


The World They Lost

by Leader_In_Red



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bondage, Captivity, Experimentation, F/M, Government Conspiracy, Hurt/Comfort, Mad Scientists, Modern Era, Tolkien's books are a thing... but literally no one has read them since the war, elves in modern world, made up government agencies, prisoner, the elves are kicked out of Aman, they land in the modern world and the US Gov is NOT happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2020-10-05 10:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leader_In_Red/pseuds/Leader_In_Red
Summary: When Aman is emptied and several elves land in a world filled with Mankind who fear and lack all recollection of the firstborn: Elrond, Glrofindel, and Erestor find themselves captive of a strange force who identify themselves at the "US Government."Soon a brilliant biologist, who has already worked on a plethora of top secret projects with the government, is reassigned from her studies on immortal jellyfish and tasked with extracting information (be it biological or strategical) from subjects who are certainly not human.She must then wrestle with her morals as she finds that separating emotion from her work is incredibly difficult when your subjects can speak the same language as the scientist.(full summary inside)





	1. Summary

Something terrible has happened in Aman and paradise is falling apart. The Valar, in their desperation, scatter the elves across time and universes in hopes that some may survive. Unfortunately, several of them land in the modern world where the race of Man rules alone and holds no recollection of the firstborn.

Elrond, Erestor, and Glorfindel are captured by a secret and specialized branch of the US Government who are concerned with what these beings of superior biology can do. They lock them up and study them with equal parts fear and curiosity. They want to know everything about them: their biology and their knowledge. They know of the superior strength, speed, agility, and senses of the elves while a mistaken comment from Glorfindel informs the humans of elven immortality. When the US Government gets a hint at Elrond's foresight and healing abilities however, things go from bad to worse. 

The elves have no desire to become caged test subjects, locked away from the stars and nature's beauty, poked and prodded at with devices that they are certain must have been designed for torture- yet they have no choice. The world they land in is strange indeed with mankind bearing the foulest and most powerful "magic" with ease. Humans can kill with weapons more accurate than elvish arrows, can move in beasts faster than elvish steeds, and can even drown out the stars with light that they create. Never had Eru's firstborn felt so helpless. 

On the other side of the cells, Abigail, an experienced researcher who studies new and innovating practices of biology, overhears a few guards tossing around strange names. These names catch her attention and she jokes that they remind her of an old book that she read years ago in college. In this universe, Tolkien's stories never caught on a few copies remain to the modern day while fewer people have read them. Abigail's knowledge of the story of the elves combined with her skills in unique biology grants her a position in a research lab more secure than Area 51.

Soon her morals are tested, as while her subjects are certainly far from human, she must ask herself if they deserve to be treated with humanity.

Time is ticking and her superiors want results. After all, how does the comfort of a few creatures compare to the safety and security of the free world?


	2. Awakening

Elrond awoke with a pounding headache. 

Something was _wrong._

It was that type of wrongness that he could sense intrinsically, like a part of his soul was tugging at its bonds, twisting in his chest as it shied away from the wrongness. It was a piece of his foresight that had saved his life and the lives of his elves more times than he could count. However, it was usually a mild pull, a warning that one of the twins had attempted to climb _that cliff_ again, or that Glorfindel was having another one of his flashbacks. This strength of tug, this type of feeling clawing at his chest had not been felt since he fought in the Last Alliance right before his King fell. Whatever was happening, it was bad. 

The last thing Elrond remembered was being in Aman, being in paradise sipping wine with his old friends and getting ready to head back to his home and his wife. Wherever he was now, Elrond knew that it was certainly not Aman.

Elrond's sensitive ears began functioning before he could regain his eyesight. He could hear the sound of two others breathing nearby. The slow and even pattern of breaths indicated that they were elves. In all likelihood, they were Erestor and Glorfindel, the two faces he had last seen as he stood to gather his books before departing their merry gathering. _At least they are breathing,_ he thought bitterly to himself.

As he worked to focus on listening to the sounds of the world around himself, Elrond noticed a rather sharp, rising sound in the air. It was a constant buzz, a background noise unlike anything he had ever heard before and that served to aggravate his headache. As he took a deep breath, Elrond found himself choking on the air. The very air he breathed felt thick in this throat and bitter on his tongue. In some ways it reminded him of the air of Mordor, heavy with smoke and fourth things burning underground. 

With shaking arms, Elrond pushed himself up and opened his eyes to be greeted by the two elves he predicted, Erestor and Glorfindel. They all appeared to be wearing the exact clothes that they last remembered and both of the other elves seemed as confused as Elrond. 

"_My friend,"_ Glorfindel spoke in Sindarin, "_What has happened?_"

"_I am unsure..._" _Elrond hesitated slightly. "But something is wrong with this land."_

_"I feel it_ too," Erestor spoke up, one hand rising to cradle his aching head. 

The usually stern and serene counselor appeared decently ruffled with his thick robes bunched around his knees, hair in disarray, and hand cradling his forehead. If the situation had been less dire, Glorfindel would have surly laughed at him. 

The trio of elves looked around as they stood, hoping to find something familiar in the strange land. It seemed that the only items besides their clothing that made the journey were Elrond and Glorfindel's circlets along with Glorfindel's sword. As they turned to take in their surroundings, they found themselves in the midst of a small forest clearing. Closer inspection revealed that the clearing was newly made, trees having been felled in a pattern radiating outward from where they appeared. It was as if lighting had struck at the very spot beneath their feet. 

As the elves where focused on taking in sight of the felled trees surrounding them, they completely missed the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Put your hands up," a gruff voice called out. It took a moment for the elves to gather that he spoke in Common as it had been a very long time since they last heard that tongue. "Put your hands up and surrender to the United States Military." The voice seemed to be an order and quickly, a ring of men dressed in strange garb appeared in a half circle surrounding the elves. They seemed to lack swords or bows, but all held long black tubes that appeared to be made out of some sort of metal. 

The elves froze. These men were unlike any that they had ever seen. It was Elrond, ever the diplomat, who managed to regain his voice first.

"I am Elrond, former Lord of Imaldris," he spoke slowly in Common, the language feeling strange on his tongue as no one spoke it in Aman. "We hold no hostile intentions."

"I don't give a fuck who you think you are British," the man, who they now identified as the one standing at the head of the group and wearing the same strange, molten colored clothes as the rest. "Put you hands up or we will shoot. You are in a restricted zone."

"We did not intend to trespass," Erestor spoke calmly. He was the closest to the men, nearly within arm's reach though he did not fear them.

"Please refrain from such threats, none of you carry a bow," Glorfindel spoke with more confidence than one should have in such a strange situation.

"_Do not aggravate them,_" Elrond whispered in Sindarin. "_We know not what they are capable of. If we are back on Middle Earth than it has been long since the Eldar walked among Man._" 

One of the men seemed to have gotten too impatient. He reached an arm out and grabbed Erestor by his long hair, pulling him to the ground. Another two men immediately pounced on the counselor, gripping his arms and attempting to bring them behind his back. The slim elf was stronger than the men predicted and a rough struggle on the ground ensued. 

"Release him," Glorfindel cried out, drawing forth his blade. He took a few steps forward to stand in front of Elrond. The men however, seemed to take his approach as a threat and so, before he could take a third step-

_ **Bang** _

A crack echoed around the clearing and all three elves froze in their tracks. Never, in their long lives, had they heard such a sound. As soon as it rang out, they saw a thin whisp of smoke emerging from the long metal tube held in the arms of the leader whilst Glorfindel released a pained yelp, dropping to his knees. 

"_Glorfindel,_" Elrond gasped, dropping to his own knees beside the injured elf. "_What sort of dark magic is this?!_" The healer in Elrond cried with alarm as he felt the gaping hole that had been opened in Glorfindel's side. There was no apparent source of the wound and no arrow shaft emerged from the sight which bled profusely. 

"Unless you want another bullet you'll stand down," the man ordered once more.

Seeing the distress Glorfindel was in and knowing that these humans had somehow caused it, Erestor went limp in the grasp of the men who quickly locked his wrists behind his back with thin metal shackles. The men then closed in on Elrond and Glorfindel, one of them picking up the sword that had been tossed aside. It was when they attempted to separate the two elves that trouble ensued.

Elrond refused to be separated from Glorfindel. The wound on the golden haired elf's side was severe and Elrond feared that if he did not retain pressure on it, Glorfindel would bleed out. This being so, Elrond fought wildly with the men until the leader, the one surly responsible for injuring Glorfindel, pushed his metal tube against Elrond's chest. Even through the layers of his robe, Elrond could feel the heat of the tube as if it held a fire within it. 

Elrond went still and reluctantly allowed the men to pull Glorfindel away. The men shackled both of their wrists behind their backs and pulled Elrond to a stand, leading him closer to Erestor. One of the men reached forward to check Glorfindel while the elf lifted his head to lock eyes with the man. At this movement, Glorfindel's mane of golden hair fell backwards and revealed one of his pointed ears. 

The man reaching for him froze. 

Suddenly, he launched forward and grabbed Glorfindel's chin, pulling it upward so that both of his ears were exposed. He traced his other hand across the pointed tip of Glorfindel's ear while the blond elf made a weak attempt to struggle. Elrond watched this unfold with caution in his eyes. He spared a glance to Erestor who seemed equally concerned. It seemed the men had not noticed their ears earlier. 

"Sarge," the man holding Glorfindel's chin yelled. 

The leader of the group walked briskly over to Glorfindel and examined his ears in much the same manner as the other soldier had. He then walked to both Elrond and Erestor, examining their ears as well. A strange emotion crossed the Edan's face. Something between confusion, curiosity, and a chilling coldness that worried Elrond greatly. Nonetheless, the elf decided that it was better for them to reveal themselves willingly. 

"We are elves," he spoke slowly but with steady confidence, the type of tone one might use in ensuring an elfling that the orcs would not breech the city. "Some have referred to us as the Eldar or the Firstborn, but we are elven-kind. I am unsure as to how much time has passed since we last walked these shores, but we hold no intention of harm."

"Elves," the human leader rolled the word off his tongue as if he was testing it. "Well I'll be damned, right smack in the middle of Erudition," his voice verged on laughter until he suddenly grew serious. "We're taking them back to base. R&D can have a field day with them."

With that strange order the men began to move again, seemingly unaffected or ignoring the alarm that they showed earlier. Elrond had to admit to himself that the men were certainly well trained soldiers. They all seemed alarmed by the identity of the elves and it was likely that they believed the Eldar to be myths. Yet, they moved with upmost confidence as they pulled on the arms of their captives, forcing them to stand and move.

One of the men reached for Elrond who was able to catch a quick glimpse of the men roughly binding Glorfindel's wounds with a thin strip of white bandaging before a blindfold was slipped over his eyes. From the sounds of panic behind him, Elrond knew that they had blindfolded Erestor and likely Glorfindel as well. 

"_Easy Erestor,_" Elrond spoke quickly. "_They bound Glorfindel's wounds so they surly have no intention of killing us. We must be patient and bide our time._"

"Shut up," the same leader of the men called out. "Walk."

With those orders the elves allowed themselves to be led on a winding path through the forest until they came to a sudden halt. A deep rumbling sound echoed around them and the foul smell that chocked the elves became even stronger. All three elves, still bound and blindfolded, were forced to step up onto a cool metal surface. They felt the strong thumps of the men filtering into the cramped space behind them and one of the men thumped loudly on the metal wall Elrond was pushed against.

At that signal, there was a sudden lurch in the ground and the metal cart began to move forward. The cart however was unlike any that the elves had ever been in before. Elrond quickly found himself growing sick to his stomach as they bumped along a rather uneven trail. The foreboding feeling from earlier only grew the more they moved and Elrond found himself praying to Eru that they would survive whatever was to come. 


	3. Arrival

As they bumped along the rough path, Erestor could feel himself growing sick. The blindfold cutting off his sense of sight felt stifling and caused no small amount of panic. The more they were jostled, the more he could smell the sharp tang of blood, of Glorfindel's blood. His friend had been shot with an arrow bearing no shaft, a weapon which created a wound deeper and with more ease than he had ever seen in all his days. How had the race of man grown to so much power since the sailing of the elves? 

Beside him his lord was silent with only his steady breathing a hint to his presence. Elrond was rather certain that the men had no intention of killing them, but Erestor knew that there are worse things than death. He did not trust these men with their strange magic and vile weapons. Also, he hated the feeling of helplessness they corned the elves into. Never in their long lives had any of the three elves found themselves at the mercy of men in such a way. 

After what felt like an eternity but was likely slightly less than an hour, the strange carriage that they rode in came to a stop. 

"If I may please inquire as to where we have arrived," Elrond began to speak, but was cut off by one of the men yanking rather viciously on his shackled wrists, pulling him from the carriage. As he was still blindfolded, he missed the step entirely and stumbled down. 

"Shut up," the same voice of the leader from earlier yelled. "Get the fairies out of the truck and take them to Special Holding R&D."

"Yes sir," another man shouted and the elves found themselves being whisked away. Erestor's sharp ears heard the soft grunt as Glorfindel was forced from the "truck" and pushed along at a pace that threatened his already wounded side. 

Erestor heard a soft _**swish **_before being led forward where the soft earth gave way to some sort of hard and solid surface. Air blew into his face as they crossed what he could only assume to the be the threshold of some strange building as he felt a continuous breeze on his face throughout their walk. The air was not of the kind of natural wind however, it was stale and felt unnaturally chilled, no so much in a way that could even come close to affecting an elf, but enough to be noticeably cool. 

The three elves were led through a series of winding corridors and finally brought to a room where their blindfolds were removed. All three elves blinked at the sudden change as they found themselves in the strangest room that they had ever seen. Three walls were solid white and gave off the coolness of steel. On one wall was a giant mirror reflecting the confused expressions of the elves back at them. Most notably however was the brightness of the room. There were no windows and no candles, however bright white light shone down on the elves from the ceiling, shining harshly in a manner that forced the immortal beings to squint. 

The soldiers holding each of the elves released their arms and pushed them forward slightly. For Glorfindel, that slight push was enough to send him toppling over. Elrond rushed to his side, but there was little he could do with his hands bound behind his back save offer softly spoke words of comfort. The wound on Glorfindel's side had indeed been bound, but it seemed that the strange mortal made weapon had left something inside which the elf's body was clearly rejecting. Sweat poured forth from Glorfindel's fevered brow and his eyes were already becoming somewhat glassy. Erestor remained frozen in a corner, gaping in shock at the scene. To watch his brave colleague who had faced so much in his previous two lives on Arda reduced in a such a manner by Edan no less...

"Please," Erestor spoke in a near whisper. It was not in his nature to beg, but he was not so a fool to believe himself in control of the situation. "Our friend is wounded, whatever magic you weapons posses is strong and we are not your foes." He paused, hesitating slightly as he saw both Elrond and Glorfindel watching the men with the faintest bit of hope in their eyes. "Please, I only ask for simple supplies: bandages, clean water, fire, a pot, stitchings, and a few healing herbs to reduce pain and fever."

There was a beat of silence before one of the men released a sought bark of laughter causing all three elves to instantly deflate in hope.

"We ain't giving you pixies _fire_ of all things," one man gawfed.

"Please," Elrond jumped in. "Any supplies will do, but his wound is severe."

"He's not gonna die in the next few hours," the man spoke tersely. "This ain't our department but I'm sure someone will patch him up eventually."

With that, the men left, slamming the door behind them. A series of buzzes were heard radiating from the door and Erestor could only assume the sounds to be locks securing them in. When it became obvious that the men wouldn't be returning, Erestor crouched down closer to Elrond and Glorfindel.

"_How is he,_" he whispered to Elrond. 

"_I am fine,_" Glorfindel replied, cutting off their lord and halfheartedly glaring at Erestor. "_I am more concerned about our captivity than anything._"

"_We can only wait and pray that Eru has a reason for all this,_" Elrond spoke slowly, eyes distant. The distant expression in Elrond's eyes concerned Erestor. The last time he saw his lord appear so lost was when he found out that he was unable to heal his beloved wife. The memories stirred something dark within Erestor, a deep set anger for all the times that the Valar seemed to damn him and his lord. 

"_I am beginning to think that Eru either forgot about the elves or has found his cruel streak,_" Erestor murmured to himself. 

***

"Dr. Abigail Ito," a uniformed man called from the half open doorway. 

"I'll be with you in a moment," a young, slim figure wearing a white lab coat and holding a small timer responded without taking her eyes off the large tank in front of her. 

She stared at is for several minutes longer, never taking her eyes off the contents of the tank. Finally, she clicked the timer and immediately began jotting down notes at lighting fast speed. When she was done, she flicked her eyes across the page to double check her notes before raising her head to the young soldier who had begun to shift from one foot to the other with impatience. 

"Can I help you," she asked, a wry smile on her lips as he noticed her gaze on her and snapped smartly to attention. 

"The General wishes to see you Ma'am," the soldier stood in parade style, eyes straight ahead and back stiff as a board. 

"Hmmmm..." she mused. "I wonder what he wants now. Lead on soldier, and you may call me Dr. Ito, ma'am sounds like an old lady."

"Of course, Dr. Ito," he responded curtly before holding the door open for her. 

The pair walked silently through the hallways, passing through several doors that they had to scan badges to get through until they came to a large iron door flank on both sides by soldiers standing guard. The young soldier knocked on the door which was immediately opened to reveal a rather spacious office with a massive desk at the center. Behind the desk sat a man with slat and pepper hair, and a uniform containing enough pins to set a metal detector crazy. The young soldier saluted before turning and walking out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

"Dr. Ito, please," the General said, gesturing to the chair before the desk. "Sit."

She sat easily in the chair, leaning back slightly and resting one arm against the back of the chair waiting for the four star General to speak first. 

"Dr. Abigail Ito, child protege who graduated form high school at 14 years of age. By 17 you had Bachelors degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Cognitive Sciences. At 19 you graduated top of your class with a Doctorate in Comparative Biology and another Doctorate in Medicine. Now, at 23 you've been working for the US Government for 3 years leading a lab team here at Erudition." 

"You forgot my Masters in Extinct Animal Studies, but otherwise you seem to have my resume," she replied easily. "However considering I've already been hired, as you yourself stated, I would like to know why you called me here when I have some very fascinating sea jellies to monitor." Being a high school student at 12 years old was enough to make anyone unintimidated by those older and "more powerful" than themselves. 

"I see that you wish to get to the point, very well," he replied. "You overheard a conversation approximately three hours ago that you were not meant to overhear, and you recognized a name listed. I want to know everything you know about that being."

Abigail was dumbstruck for a moment. In truth she thought that she was going to have to argue once more about funding her research or the number of lab assistants she required. Faced with that statement however, she thought back to earlier that morning and recalled the conversation she heard between two soldiers fresh from some survey of the land who spoke about a "frikin elf with pointed ears and everything. Called himself Elrond Lord of something." She had hopped into their conversation, mentioning how some old book that she read years ago had an elf named Elrond in it. 

"Elrond was the name," she asked. The General nodded, waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but it was the name of a character from some old, falling apart paperback book that I found in the Harvard Library when I was sixteen. Ring of... Lords of Rings, or something like that."

"But Elrond, who was he, an elf correct," he pressed on, leaning forward at his desk.

"Listen, all I remember was that he was an elf who was tall, had some fancy ring, and was the lord of some weird elf land with a bunch of waterfalls and a river that I think he made horses in. It was a long time ago and I read like half the book once when I was bored. The pages were falling apart and I'd bet that it's not even there anymore."

"If you read the book then surly you must remember more," he sounded frustrated. Abigail rolled her eyes in response. 

"You read Romeo and Juliet in high school right?" she asked. 

"Yes."

"Tell me then what was the name of the Friar who secretly married the couple? Or perhaps what are the names of Romeo's kin and friends? Which ones die, whom slays whom?" 

"I don't remember," he grumbled, slightly peeved at the way she turned the interrogation around. 

"Now that was a story you probably spent weeks on studying in depth and you haven't the faintest idea about it. How would you expect me to recall an old fairy tale that I never even full read. Now," she was speaking in a bit of a huff. "If you would please inform me as to why I am here instead of interrogating me about ancient books that I've read as I would very much like to return to my work."

The General hesitated for a few more moments before giving a slightly resigned sigh and opening the silver laptop on his desk. The screen showed several pictures of three figures, each with long hair, bright eyes, and pointed ears. Two of them had dark hair and one had a mane of impossibly golden curls. All three looked incredibly confused. 

"These three foreign subjects appeared in the northeastern quadrant of the grounds in the middle of this," he moved the cursor over to another picture of what appeared to be some sort of massive lighting strike zone with the scattered remains of trees radiating in a perfect circle. "They claim to be elves and one identified himself as Elrond. They are certainly not human and our initial assessment of them has found that they are far stronger than the average man, have incredibly sensitive hearing, and likely highly efficient eyesight. They speak English, but also some strange language that our interpreters have yet to figure out. These "elves" also appear to have an incredibly primitive understanding of technology and they had no clue what a gun was."

"I suppose that this is the kind of thing that Erudition was build for," Abigail muttered softly to herself as she leaned forward to examine the pictures more closely. 

"Your Doctorate in Comparative Biology and expertise in unique species makes you an ideal researcher for this study. I would like to transfer you to Project Sidhe, we need to learn more about what these creatures are and if they pose a threat to national security."

Abigail pondered the offer for a little while before shaking her head.

"No," she stated simply. "Right now I'm the head of my lab, actually my department, and I'm conducting some fascinating research. You want to transfer me to being a researcher in someone else's lab under another individual's supervision. Not only would accepting a demotion be absurd, but it's a waste of both my and whoever else you're taping to lead the team's time. If you have my final then you should know that I do not do well with orders and I will certainly clash with anyone you place above me," she rounded off her soliloquy as she stood, ready to leave. "So, if that is all then I shall be returning to my research."

"And if I were to order you to switch positions," he asked. This caused Abigail to turn, one eyebrow raised in mild amusement.

"I'm not a member of the US Military. You could shut down my program and I would simply acquire a better paying job leading a lab at any major University. I am not one of your soldier who you can order around at will," she crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

"We need you on this project," he strained.

"Then I get to lead it and I also pick my replacement to take over my lab while I'm away. I get to maintain my position as head of Biological Solutions. Take it or leave it." 

"You don't have any experience with something like this," he frowned deeply. "These subjects aren't like your jellyfish, they talk and may not even be of this world."

"I had no experience leading a department and yet I was the head of it within 6 months of working here," Abigail shrugged. "I'm not stupid enough to unlock the cages of the elves who posses unknown powers and there's no one better qualified to study their unique physiology than me."

"You're very good at this game," he spoke as if he were irritated, but Abigail could already tell that he would acquiesce. "I can see why you're the only staff member who succeeded in their request for off facility housing."

"I've had to be," was her simple reply. 

"It's settled then," he gave a tight smile. "Welcome to Project Sidhe. I'll have your credentials updated to allow you into the holding areas. You have 1 hour to pick your replacement and settle things in your lab. At 3 o'clock, I'll have one of your new assistants wait outside your current lab to take you to your new facilities and fill you in on all the information."

"Very good," Abigail replied, a slight smile twitching on her lips. "One more thing, I would like to have one of my current lab assistant, Dr. Sophie Turing, transfer to Project Sidhe with me. She is an excellent researcher and I will require her assistance especially if I am acquiring and entirely new staff."

"Shouldn't be a problem, I'll update her credentials as well," he replied, already turning back to his computer.

Abigail swiftly stood and made her way to the door, striding down the hallway and back to her lab. A temporary replacement for her was easy enough to find and she just finished jotting down the last set of instructions when the same soldier from earlier arrived to escort her and Sophie to their new project. Sophie, for her part was thrilled with the concept of a new, humanoid species that may potentially be of a different planet.

The pair had been close since their first day at Erudition, both being of nearly the same age in a remote and isolated facility filled with people older than them. They hit it off right away and found themselves fast friends. Whatever crazy project Abigail signed up for, she wanted Sophie there at her side. Not even the seriousness of the series of locks and biometric scans that they had to pass through could damper the slight skip in Abigail's step. Away from the show she put on in the General's office, she was incredibly excited for this once in a lifetime research opportunity. It isn't every day that one gets to examine such a unique and fascinating species. 

"If we're placing bets on what they can be besides weird hermits of Earth," Sophie said in a sing song voice, "then my money's on alien."

"Fifty says multiverse theory," Abigail chimed back. 

"You've got a deal," responded Sophie as the pair playfully shoot on it.

"What to you say Soldier," questioned Abigail. 

"Specialist Lewison Dr. Ito," he replied. "As for your bet, I haven't got a clue but I'll be working with both of you as I'm assigned to Project Sidhe."

"Who do you report to," she asked.

"You."

"Hmm," Abigail mused. "I didn't know that I would have soldiers on my team."

"It's special procedure for this one as the subjects have proven themselves to be dangerous. One was obtained with a sword." As he spoke he handed Abigail a shiny I-pad with an opened file on it. "This has all the information and reports that we've gathered so far. One of the subjects obtained a bullet wound during collection. It was a side wound and appeared to hit no major organs. The medic bandaged it, but we haven't seen to it since it was placed in holding."

"We'll probably have to treat him first before we can get to anything else," mused Sophie.

Abigail made a sound of agreement as she continued to read the information in the file. Said file contained a plethora of information on both the subjects and the team she would be leading. She mused that this was likely going to be the most exciting project of her life... she had no idea how true that prediction would be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was a long one. Future chapters likely won't be so long, but I really had fun playing with the office scene as we get to know Abigail and how she's good at play with words to get what she wants. 
> 
> We're almost at the good stuff where Abigail and the elves get some interesting interactions!


	4. Doctor Ito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... this one is gonna be a bit bloody and violent. In a way it could be considered torture, but Abigail doesn't quite see it that way.
> 
> If you're squeamish about blood though, you might want to sit this one out.

Glorfindel was only half paying attention to the whispered argument between Elrond and Erestor. The pair seemed rather split on how best to deal with their captors. Elrond believed the Edain could be negotiated with, he thought them to be merely scared and thus acting rashly.The evidence that he put forth was that Glorfindel's wound had been dressed in the field and their hands unbound by another group of soldiers after being locked in their cell. On the other hand, Erestor was quite certain that their intents were sinister by mere nature. The evidence he put forth was Glorfindel's wound and the fact that they remained in captivity. Even stuck in this Valar forsaken land the pair would find themselves at an impasse.

Instead of contributing to the unhelpful debate, Glorfindel was distracted by the constant high pitched buzz in the air. He was certain that the annoying sound was coming from the small, meta boxes mounted in the corners of the room. His side ached as no wound he ever had before and he was annoyed that these humans bothered to bandage his wounds but not provide Elrond with any supplies to property care for them. The harsh lighting was rather severe on his eyes and he was certain that the buzzing was getting louder. 

Glorfindel blinked and held up a hand, watching as the edges of his skin blurred. He contemplated for a few moments that such was likely not the best of scenarios. As his headache worsened, he found himself slowly slumping down the side of the wall. Elrond was quick to notice this and was by Glorfindel's side in an instant. He pulled the blond elf's head into his lap and used the back of his hand to check the ancient elf's temperature- it was far too high.

Elrond's hands felt soothing and cool on Glorfindel's fevered brow. 

"_He's getting worse,_" Elrond spoke with great concern. 

"_Can you heal him?_" Erestor asked.

"_I can try,_" Elrond closed his eyes and placed a hand over Glorfindel's forehead. He closed his eyes and focused his energy, allowing some of his healing magic to flow into Glorfindel, soothing his fever and pulling his temperature back into a safe range. Nearby, Erestor watched the scene with rapt attention. 

The elves were so focused on Glorfindel that they nearly missed the sound of their door clicking open. 

***

"I'm going to need him strapped down," Abigail said slowly, worrying her bottom lip as she pondered. "We know nothing about their metabolism and I can't risk giving him any painkillers."

"We can handle that for you," the soldier, _Specialist _as she recalled the correction with a slight smile, stated. 

"Ensure that you don't jostle his wound too much," she replied, not looking away from the one way glass which allowed her to watch the dark haired subject, self identified as "Elrond," comfort the blond haired subject that was soon to be her patient. Something strange was occurring, perhaps it was a trick of the glass, but it appeared that the hand the dark haired "elf" had on the other was glowing. Abigail shook her head slowly and pushed the thought aside; if there was something then the cameras would surly catch it and she could review it later. For now she had a patient to treat. "I'll need you monitoring on the outside," Abigail instructed Sophie who nodded in understanding. "I really don't want to overwhelm the subject with too many people."

"Understandable," Sophie flipped open a briefcase and began to fiddle with the contents, pulling forth a small earpiece. "I'll be right here in your ear if you need a consultation." She said these words with a crinkle of mirth in her eyes which Abigail appreciated. 

Even though she knew the obvious practicality of performing the procedure without any anesthetic as the risk to use such would be too great, part of her was loath to subject any creature capable of understanding pain to such a feat. Yet, it was better than letting a wound fester or allowing one of three subjects to go into anaphylactic shock and die on her table.

"What's your approach," Sophie questioned. 

"I'll start impersonal. They are clearly not human and anthropomorphizing is dangerous even with the most intelligent of apes," Abigail said as she fitted the small earpiece in. "But if I see an opportunity to extract information then I'll take it. We're not just here to understand the physiology of these creatures, we need to figure out if they pose a threat."

"Alright, ready?" Sophie asked. 

Both girls wore their lab coats and Abigail had scrubbed her hands and donned gloves. She had a full kit ready to cleanse and suture the wound. At her nod, five soldiers walked towards the door, ready to pull Subject 1 into the Study Room where a contraption similar to a dentist's chair with heavy straps was waiting. 

***

The door clicked and quickly opened with a loud **Bang.**

Glorfindel's head shot up in alarm at the sound. His wound still ached, but his mind was greatly cleared by Elrond's magic. He watched with closely guarded eyes as five men walked into the room. Two of them stood by the door, guarding it and bearing those same metal tubes that wounded him out on the field. Two more men bore strange looking metal sticks, and the man at the head of the group turned and addressed Elrond who still held Glorfindel close. 

"Subject Two, step away from Subject One," his voice was monotone in a stern order. 

"_What in Eru's name do you want now,_" Erestor vented his frustration in Sindarin at the men.

This was clearly a wrong move as one of the men holding a strange stick shoved his into Erestor's side. As soon as the stick touched the elf, he collapsed, screaming in pain and writhing on the ground, body spasming uncontrollably. 

"Stop please," Elrond cried, hands raised in a gesture of peace, of surrender. 

The man torturing Erestor looked to the one who spoke first. The later man, clearly the leader of the group nodded his head once and the soldier took a step back. Once the stick was no longer in contact with Erestor's side, the elf stopped screaming and convulsing. Instead, he laid on the ground catching his breath, his eyes appeared unfocused and his mouth was open as he slowly panted for air. 

"We know you understand and speak English," if the leader was affected at all by the cries of the elf, then he did not show it. "You are _always_ to use English when we are present."

Glorfindel was seething with rage at the treatment of his friend. While Erestor was still recovering, Elrond was the only one present with enough sense to nod slowly in agreement. These Edain had somehow gained powerful magic and Elrond was not keen on angering them. 

"Now I will repeat my order," the man spoke again. "Subject Two, step away from Subject One."

"Please," Elrond realized what they wanted when he spotted one of the men pull forth a single pair of those slim shackles used on them before. "My friend is wounded, but I can heal him."

"I will not repeat my order," as the man paused, one of the other men stepped forward with that dreadful stick. "You will be shocked as well."

"I will be fine Elrond," Glorfindel whispered. In truth, he was terrified. He wasn't sure if the men were separating him to heal him or to end his life. However, he once swore an oath to protect the peredhel family and he was not one to forgo an oath. 

Reluctantly, Elrond stood and moved towards Erestor to check on him. Two of the soldiers walked forward and gripped Glorfindel under his arms, lifting him up and shackling his wrists. The blond elf clenched his teeth at the treatment, but otherwise made no sound as they dragged him out. 

"Where are you taking him?" Elrond cried out, but the door to their cell was slammed in his face and he was met with only silence. 

The men holding Glorfindel continued to march him out of the room and through a series of hallways, all with those strangely bright lights shining from the ceilings. He didn't see a single window on the walk, but after passing the same sign several times he came to the conclusion that the men were purposely taking him on a winding path so that he would be unable to memorize the layout of the building. 

_Smart,_ he thought. _I would be inclined to do something similar if I were to escort a prisoner through Imaldris. _

Their destination however, was soon reveled to be a room painted white with a rather strange looking chair. The men unshackled his wrists and stripped him of his clothing, forced him into the chair, and quickly secured wide straps on his wrists, arms, ankles, legs, across his chest, and around his head. The straps were strong and Glorfindel quickly realized that even at full strength, he likely wouldn't be able to break them. 

When the men turned to leave, Glorfindel spoke for the first time since they removed him from his room. 

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. But, the men simply ignored him and walked out. 

He sat, strapped in that chair for several more minutes eyes wandering to the large metal monstrosity hanging above him. As he waited, the fear and anticipation only bubbled within him. He was leaned back in the chair and his entire body was exposed. Even when severely injured to the point of being completely bedridden, he had never felt as helpless in his life. Being alone with his thoughts, he listened for any sound that he could discern, but only heard the same high pitched buzzing, followed by several clicks coming from the metal machine above him. 

Then, the door opened. 

In stepped a petite woman in a long white coat. She was pushing a metal cart with several strange devices on it. She scanned her eyes across his form like she was praising him. In a way, her gaze reminded Glorfindel of Elrond's when he was examining a patient that he was in a particularly severe condition, impersonal and analytical- _one must clear their mind of emotion before they can truly discern such a complex problem, _he remembered Elrond once declaring. Cognizant of his own nakedness however, he could not help but blush slightly under the scrutiny of a maiden.

"Hello," his voice was weak from his condition, but he did his best to smile. It was obvious that these Edains did not respond well to force, so perhaps charm would help his cause.

The girl simply ignored him and instead focused her attention on a small wooden board with a leaf of paper attached. She looked over the leaf of paper for several more seconds before raising her head to meet his eyes. 

"I don't suppose that you know whether or not you're allergic to Barbiturates do you?"

"I apologize my lady, but I do not believe my Common to be so advanced."

"Yah, I didn't think so," she seemed to be speaking more to herself than him as she wrote on her paper with rapid speed. She then moved to her cart and began digging through the objects, removing a strange curved object, bright purple and bearing a handle at the top of the U. "Open your mouth," she comanded.

"Might I ask what for?" 

"This is gonna hurt, and you're gonna want something to bite down on," she spoke matter-of-factly.

Glorfindel felt his heart rate spike just a little. She seemed so young, she should be innocent and sweet, but instead this young Edain was speaking plainly about causing him harm. _Is this world really so cruel now?_ He wondered to himself. 

"You can bite down on this, or you can bite off your tongue," she placed a hand on her hip and watch him with a raised brow. "It's up to you."

Glorfindel silently complied, opening his mouth to allow the strange object, which turned out to be perfectly molded to fit his jaw, between his teeth. He watched with fascination as she sprayed a sharp smelling liquid across his wounded side. The liquid stung and burned a bit when it made contact with his wound, but the pain was minor compared to what he was used to. 

She then used a strange pair of metal pincers to pick up a piece of white fluff, which must have been some sort of well washed cotton, and dip it into another sharp smelling fluid, this time brown instead of clear. She used this cotton tuft to wipe the brown liquid all around his wound. The treatment was firm, but not overly rough. Glorfindel realized that the liquids must be some sort of healing balm and wondered if his assessment of torture was ill placed. 

Just as he considered this, she put the tuft down and brought the metal pincers close to his wound once more. Instead of remaining at the surface of his skin though, she took a deep breath before digging the steel into his wound.

Glorfindel's field of vision became white as excruciating pain radiated from his side. He bit down hard on the strange implement in his mouth and screamed in agony. His body contorted against the straps, but the restraints held firm and prevented him from escaping his pain. He could feel blood pouring forth from the wound as the metal pincers tore through his new flesh that had knitted itself back together over the course of his journey to that strange room.

The pincers were blunt, not cutting but tearing; ripping into his newly grown flesh, he could feel them digging further and further into him. His hands clenched into fights, but he had nothing to grab and nowhere to go. Hot blood was spilling from the now expanding hole in his side. 

Vaguely, in the back of his mind he could hear voices, the voice of the girl digging into his wound, and another, much quieter voice that floated in as if from nowhere. 

"Damnit, there's over half an inch of muscle over the bullet!"

"You're sure it's under there?"

"Well it wasn't above it and I'm just following the damn x-ray."

"How's that possible?!"

"Damn, profuse bleeding. It's like new muscle. It must have just grown."

"According to the file, Subject 1 has been wounded for approximately 12 hours."

"This is weeks worth of healing. These things must heal at incredible rates."

Then, the pain stopped. His wound of course still felt tender, but the white hot pain of metal tearing through his insides subsided enough for him to open his eyes. Sweat glaze his brown and several strands of his hair stuck to his forehead. His chest heaved with exhaustion and a quick glance at his side told him that the wound had been re-opened and blood now poured forth from the hole. A bright light was shining down, aimed at the hole in his side and he could see the gape of raw flesh, cords of muscle like those of a deer being sliced open for a field dressing. 

His gaze traveled upwards and he saw a small, flattened piece of metal held in the grasp of those metal pinchers. A few bits of flesh-_my flesh _a rather unhelpful voice supplied, were caught in the creases of the metal. Blood dripped from the object as she dropped it easily into a small metal bowl with a light **_clink._**

He met the girl's gaze again and it seemed that she held a mild look of surprise on her face. She lifted a small metal device, aimed it at his wound, and push a button to produce a small **_click_** sound several times. She then turned to write on her sheet of paper once more. 

"Subject 1 appears to have an extraordinary pain tolerance, reminding conscious despite invasive surgery into abdominal cavity with no sedatives of any kind."

"Much nuuhh ish glorfffiiduh."

She looked up from her notes and her obvious conversation with herself to pull the purple material out from between his teeth. Glorfindel took a few seconds to catch his breath while she moved her attention back to her notes before placing the board down and returning to his side with another bottle of that sharp smelling liquid. She once more brought out a tuft of cotton and set about cleaning his wound which despite the ordeal, felt much better without that chunk of metal in it. 

"My name is Glorfindel," he finally managed to whisper, voice hoarse from a lack of water and the screaming earlier. He paused, but got no response as the girl pulled out a thin needle and thread, intent on sewing his wounds shut. He bore the sting without even blinking while his eyes remained fixed on the girl. "Might I inquire your name?"

She pulled at another few stitches before that voice from earlier in Glorfindel's haze emerged again.

"Be careful Abs, file says that Subject 1 is particularly dangerous and we know they're highly intelligent, certainly smart enough for deceit. You remember Subject 638 during Project Rhesus right?"

"What sorcery does your companion use to project their voice in this room, Abs?" he spoke his words with care, hoping that the use of that strange address was correctly her name. 

"You can hear her?" she turns her hawk like focus on him once again.

"Yes."

"Shit," the strange voice from earlier added in.

"And do not call me that," her tone was sharp as ever. 

"Then what would you have me address you as my lady?"

"You may call me Doctor Ito," she said after a pause. 

"Well met, Doctor Ito," he spoke gently. "I thank you for caring for my wound even if the treatment was rather rough." 

She raised an eyebrow lightly in what he could almost imagine to be amusement before finishing wiping his wound. She wasted no time in applying thick white bandages to cover the cleanly stitched injury. Doctor Ito then pulled forth another needle, and after much prodding to the crook of his elbow, inserted it in to draw forth a glass vial of blood. 

She spent several more minutes poking and prodding him with various implements. He only had time to voice a small noise of protest when she stuck a thin, cold glass tube between his legs before drawing it back out and writing something down on her paper. At this point his blush from earlier returned in the force of bright red plastered across his cheeks- she seemed more interested in this than his protest.

After what felt like a multitude of pinches and well over a dozen measurements taken with a measuring cloth similar to the ones used by tailors, Doctor Ito finally placed her materials down on the table. She fixed Glorfindel with a severe gaze before speaking slowly as one would to a naughty child.

"You are not to injure yourself further. Therefore you will leave this bandage alone. You are not to unwrap it, nor are you to touch or prod it. I will be changing this bandage regularly and if it feels more painful than usual or exhibits any strange symptoms then you are to inform the guards who shall inform me. If you pick at your wound, you will be punished. Do you understand?" 

Glorfindel allowed the words to sink in for a few minutes before responding. He weighed each of his words with care. 

"My companion, Lord Elrond," he decided that the title was not much of a concession as the peredhel had introduced himself with it. "He is a healer. He will surly wish to examine my wound." She pursed her lips before reply crisply.

"The three of you being kept together is a privilege that I will not hesitate to withdraw. If he messes with my bandaging then he will be separated and punished as well."

She then stood and walked out of the room, not allowing Glorfindel a chance to respond.

A few minutes was all the time he had to collect himself before those same five men from before arrived to unstrap Glorfindel from the torturous contraption. The pain from his wound and the impromptu procedure however made him weak and his legs buckled beneath him. One of the men went to pull him up by his arms, but the leader stopped him.

"Remember, the Doc will have our heads if we strain his wound," he spoke the words with a half laugh that proved them to be in jest. This tone was somewhat comforting to Glorfindel. _I don't know what I'd do if she were the type to take lives at the smallest of errors._ Glorfindel shuddered at the thought. 

"Yes sir," one of the men replied before folding Glorfindel into an incredibly thin, light green tunic of sorts and scooping Glorfindel into his arms.

Glorfindel thought to protest for a moment before another man locked his arms- _thankfully in front,_ with shackles once again. The man then proceeded to walk alongside the soldier carrying Glorfindel with his hand on that strange metal tube that injured Glorfindel out in the field. Any thoughts of struggling dissolved from his mind at that sight. 

Just like before, they took a route of winding corridors and doubling back before reaching his cell. The door was opened and two men, one bearing a metal tube and the other a stick, the same one used to shock Erestor, walked in ahead. Bothe Elrond and Erestor stood at their entrance, each taking a small step backwards in fear. The man did not react to this at all and instead gestured for the soldier holding Glorfindel to walk in and place him on the ground. 

"Glorfindel," Elrond cried out in delight and took a half step forward before being interrupted by one of the _metal_ tubes aimed at his chest. 

The solider remained frozen for a few moments longer when another, younger man, walked in and placed a large tray on the floor. That seemed to be the signal and all 6 men retreated out the door, never taking their eyes off the elves. 

"_Glorfindel,_" Elrond walked forward without fear after hearing the door lock behind the men. "_How are you, are you injured further?_"

"_It seems they finally sent us food and water,_" Erestor spoke, analyzing the items on the tray. It was not that he did not care for his friend, but from the way Elrond was speaking to Glorfindel, he knew that Glorfindel was surly fine and that him worrying over the blond elf would only serve as an annoyance. 

"_I am well,_" his voice was still hoarse from the screaming and echoes of sweat still stained his face, but in a way he was better than when he left. "_One who goes by the name _Doctor Ito _removed a strange piece of metal and bound my wound._"

"_Allow me to see it,_" Elrond said as he reached for Glorfindel's side.

"_Nay, stop,_" Glorfindel cried. "_She is to be the only one who __dresses my wound. She threatened that if any other touched it then they shall be separated and punished. I am fine, my wound was cleaned and stitched. Please do not risk it, I fear that she would know no matter how careful you are my Lord._"

"_Eru damn them all,_" Erestor cursed silently to himself.

"_They truly threatened so?_"

"_Aye. And I do not believe that we should be separated._"

"_So long as your condition does not worsen, I will trust your judgment of this Edain healer._"

"_Come,_" Erestor spoke softly, the same exhaustion that the other two were feeling crept into his voice. "_Let us eat and drink. It seems that they did not know what we would eat, and thus provided a surprisingly varied diet._"

"_It seems they do not just see us as different,_" Elrond spoke slowly, choosing his words with care. "_But they act as one would with a dangerous and exotic beast, like one would with an oliphant having never before seen one._"

"_I seem to recall an old record stating that a tribe of Rohan Riders, upon their first ever encounter with an oliphant that strayed far from its handlers involved the men snaring a calf and dissecting it. They pulled each organ from its body to examine individually. The footnote claimed that the men did it while the creature was still alive... at least at the beginning it was._" 

The elves lapsed into silence as they took in Erestor's words. Glorfindel decided that he could explain the prodding and measuring later. 


	5. Specimens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the scientific process that they use in this is gonna be completely inaccurate. As much as I love science, I have a feeling that no one wants to read 50 pages of Abigail and co taking measurement after measurement, running tests, and analyzing samples before they reach their conclusions.  
Let's just go with tv show science where everything gets brushed over and somehow they reach massive conclusions quickly. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Also, last thing...  
I'm doing the best I can here with Elrond's story. I'm not super knowledgeable about Tolkien's legendarium so if I make any mistakes then I apologize.

"All three subjects show extraordinary, if overly formal, linguistic skills and appear to have a strong social bond. They can understand potential consequences and are capable of determining them through verbal warnings and observation of their fellows. There also appears to be strong social bonds between the subjects with a strong amount of concern for the wellbeing and closeness of their fellows. The social hierarchy of the group is with Subject 2 at the top of the hierarchy. Subject 1 appears to be second on the list with Subject 3 at the bottom. There are however times when Subject 1 defers to Subject 3 when Subject 3 exhibits qualities of anger and/or frustration; whether this is due to a loose hierarchal system or a temporary phenomenon as a result of Subject 1's injury is yet to be determined," Sophie finished her initial conclusions write up by reading the final paragraph aloud to Abigail. 

Just the two of them remained in the office for the night. They had set up in the observation room with the one way glass so that Abigail could keep an eye on her patient as they gathered their findings for the day. Both shuffled through their notes, Sophie's on an i-pad and Abigail's on paper. 

"Well aside from the previously noted injury to Subject 1, Subject 1 appears to be in fair health. Preliminary examinations show that Subject 1 is male and Subjects 2 and 3 are likely male as well. Subject 1 has extraordinary hearing, sensitive enough to hear an earwig while in use. Subject 1 also has a high hemoglobin count when compared t humans, however comparison to that of Subjects 2 and 3 is necessary before conclusions about race are determined. Various unidentifiable proteins were also found in Subject 1 and will require further testing. Initial observations also prove that all three subjects display elevated perceptions in eyesight, hearing, and strength," Abigail paused for a moment, drawing her mind back to her encounter with Subject 1 in the examination room. "Most notably however, Subject 1 appears to have extremely accelerated healing. A seven centimeter deep bullet wound appeared to have over 2 centimeters of newly formed tissue... not scar tissue, but healthy muscle tissue, grow in approximately 12 hours."

Abigail put her pencil down and ran a hand through her hair, undoing the pony tail and combing through the knots. She was frustrated, excited, and amazed all at the same time. Never in all her studies had she encountered a creature like these. Currently, her and her research team were referring to them by their chosen title of "elves," but these were so unlike the elves of myth that she felt that must be something more. They exhibited the extraordinary sensing, healing, and physical strength of a wide range of species, but never had such traits manifested in one organism before. It also didn't help that they were extraordinarily intelligent, intelligent to the point where they could mimic humans. Such was a dangerous thing in test subject. 

"And all three subjects display extraordinary hotness," Sophie added verbally with a smirk. 

"Sophie," Abigail chided. The Burnett simply shrugged, completely unashamed of her boldness. 

"What?" she chewed idly on the back of her tablet pen. "It isn't like these are the official recordings."

The pointed look that Abigail gave to remind her that there were _always_ recordings taking place at Erudition did nothing to deter the other girl who shrugged again. 

"Listen," Sophie spoke frankly. "I've heard the guys say worse things about my boobs and they haven't been carted away yet. No one actually cares about what we say here. Besides... isn't their hotness a data point. All three have perfect facial symmetry and I bet if we did some measurements, they would all be perfect examples of the Golden Ratio."

Abigail considered her friend's words for a few more minutes before writing down a note in her rather large journal pad. It was undeniable that the "elves" were extraordinarily attractive to the human eye. They were beings so similar to humans, that without the indication of their ears or the strange glow of their eyes, they would appear to be merely humans of extraordinary beauty. 

They behaved so incredibly human-like though. The way Subject 1, who referred to himself by the _name _of Glorfindel, asked questions so sincerely while she worked on him. The way his eyes shone with pain under his treatment, and the hope, gratitude, and even fear on his face as they spoke, it all struck a cord deep in Abigail's heart.

And yet, she could not fall for their spell. She couldn't make the fatal mistake of anthropomorphizing these beings who she was still so unsure of. Meanwhile, a team of quantum physicists were still as the capture sight taking readings of the area where the "elves" appeared in in an attempt to gain an understanding as to their origin. Abigail found herself idly scribbling on her page as she pondered 

"Abs," Sophie's eyes were glued to the screen, blue irises blown wide as she zoomed the camera in. 

Abigail looked over her friend's shoulder to find her watching the old recording of the subjects after they were brought in. In the two minute loop which Sophie now replayed, Subject 2 had a hand splayed across the wound on Subject 1's side and the site around the would was glowing. Subject 2's eyes were closed in focus and the bright white glow seemed to pulse around the wound site. As they watched, Subject 1 visibly relaxed under the care, his breathing becoming less labored and the sweat pouring from his brow slowed. 

"What the fuck are we looking at?!" Sophie exclaimed. 

"I honeslty haven't the faintest idea," Abigail replied, leaning closer and replaying the clip once more. At the end of the two minute cycle, Subject 1 appeared to be exhausted, as if producing the glow somehow diminished his own energy. "This is more than bioluminescence... that glow is doing something."

"Do you think that's what healed him?"

"Light therapy does improve speed of wound healing... but not like that. He had over half an inch of pure muscle tissue. Whatever he's doing, it's something we've never seen."

"Well he speaks English. Let's go ask him."

"We'll have to so it in the morning," Abigail reminded her. "We can't go in their without the soldiers. It's against regulation and common sense." Abigail paused, grasping Sophie's arm to prevent her from standing. "These beings are like nothing we've ever seen. We're dealing with an area of science so beyond us... well it's Clarke's third law."

"If we didn't have these guys in a sterile room in Erudition... I would certainly think that it's magic."

Abigail closed her notebook and stood, walking to the door and holding it open for Sophie to pass through. The hour was growing late and both needed a chance to sleep before resuming their studies the next morning. The first thing on their agenda would have to be a questioning of Subject 2. 

That night, Sophie returned to hew personal quarters in the upper wings of Erudition's housing complex, but Abigail hopped into her car and drove off sight, flashing her ID badge at the soldiers standing guard at the high fence running around the perimeter of the site. They waved in acknowledgment at her and opened the gate to let her pass.

She was the only employee of Erudition to live off sight. The black site was located high in the mountains of Montana, far from any prying eyes. All other employees live on site to minimize security risks while their names were registered to phantom condos in the lower town. All mail and packages were mailed to those addresses and shipped up to Erudition the next day via military personnel. The security of the site was key and thus they worked to keep people contained. 

Abigail, being who she was, was afforded some special treatment. Her excuse to the US Government was simply that she craved isolation and that her mental health was at ricks living in such close quarters. In order fro her mind to fully function, in order for her to do her work, she needed open space, silence, and isolation. Thus, with a fair amount of negotiation, she was allowed to live in a cabin in the middle of the woods approximately six miles away from camp. It was far enough away and isolated enough where she did not have to worry about the constant presence of cameras and microphones as she had to while in the compound. 

When she arrived home, Abigail tossed her coat aside and flopped down on her couch, barely managing to remove her shoes as she passed the doorway. The air in the cabin was quickly warmed by her heating unit and she fixed herself a quick dinner which she ate while reviewing her notes once more. No matter how many times she re-read her notes however, she found herself unable to focus. She couldn't get the image of the Subject's glowing hand out of her head. 

_What are they... and how dangerous can they be?_

She silently pondered the power that those beings might posses, mind reeling as she slowly fell into an anxious slumber. 

***

"_Does it pain you, my friend,_" Elrond asked softly, eyes drawn towards the bandaged sight on Glorfindel's side. 

"_I have had far worse... fear not for I __believe she cleaned and stitched it well,_" the blind elf replied with a tight smile gracing his lips. 

"_I see no sign of infection... but I long for some Athelas to speed the healing. I can tell that this healer opened it further. Perhaps I can __help just a bit._"

"_Nay, my Lord,_" Erestor spoke up before Glorfindel could protest. "_Glorfindel is strong and will heal. I fear that you will need your strength._"

"_Erestor is right, my body will heal by itself. You must rest._"

The elves lapsed into silence after that. A few hours ago, the light in the room stitched off, suddenly and without warning. They were left in the pitch dark, a type of darkness only ever found to them in the deepest recesses of caves where no sunlight can touch. They did not have the moon, nor the comforting light of the stars to ease their minds under the harshness of their situation. 

As elves need far less sleep then men, they could have stayed awake through what they assumed to be the night. Yet, each found themselves drifting away for one reason or another. Glorfindel was genuinely exhausted, his body trying to heal itself for a second time. Despite the danger that he felt all around, despite the annoying buzz that always surrounded his head, he found himself drifting off. 

Erestor was distraught. He was never one for adventure and left such antics to Elrond's sons. He preferred his quiet life, first in Imaldris and then in Aman where he had the freedom to read and study. Now, in this strange realm where men grew enough in power to dominate elves, he didn't know what to do. He was anxious and afraid. He could still feel the hands of the men pulling his hair, yanking him to the ground, and restraining him with shackles as thin and smooth as jewelry, but as strong as mithril. He, like Glorfindel, found the allure of sleep too tempting and soon drifted off. 

This of course left Elrond, sitting in the darkness alone. His mind reeled as he attempted to comprehend the situation that he found himself and his companions in. For many years he held a spite in his heart for men, for the race that a tiny and jealous part of him blamed for taking his brother. Yet, his adopted son Aragorn changed all that for him. He opened his eyes to the goodness of mankind and gave the ancient elf hope that Middle Earth would be safe once the elves sailed. Now he was faced with the chance that he might have been wrong. _Did men grow in wickedness in the absence of the elves? Or, are merely these men so wicked?_ Nevertheless, Elrond felt responsible for the safety of his companions. Glorfindel was far too injured to fight and Erestor had always preferred to wield a quill over a sword. This left Elrond as the sole capable warrior of their group. Warrior was a title that he had not held in many ages, but warrior he was still. Time had not withered his limbs and he had once trained for battle until fighting became an instict; and instincts once acquired are rarely forgotten. Thus, he rested with his back against the wall directly opposite from the door in the fashion that warriors have long held; one knee he had propped up, one leg straight out, with his head tilted forward so he could watch the door with his eyes open in a light elven slumber. 

He would keep his companions safe.

***

"Dr. Ito," Specialist Lewison interrupted Abigail's morning mug of tea with a brightly lit I-pad. "The General read yesterday's report and saw the video. He wants to know what that thing did immediately."

"I just got in and I haven't got a clue yet," she grumbled around another mouthful of caffeine rich fluid. She had submitted the damn report at 1 a.m. the night before and it was only 6 a.m. that morning. _Why the hell would the General be reading my reports at such an hour?_

"Im sorry, and I don't mean to rush you," Lewison's voice softened upon noticing the bags surrounding Abigail's eyes. "But the General is impatient and... you didn't hear it from me but he's mildly terrified. That video is pretty unsettling and he said that if he doesn't get answers by tonight then he's sending one of the Black Ops guys in to get answers the 'old fashioned way,' his words exactly."

"I'll figure it out," Abigail grumbled, her mind reeling at the prospective at rushing along her interview... perhaps better labeled interrogation. Lewison nodded briefly in acknowledgment before leaving the room. At that moment, Sophie made an entrance bearing a similarly steaming mug of tea. She shuffled across the cold tile floor and flopped onto a chair next to Abigail. 

The sympathetic look that Sophie gave her was all that Abigail needed to know that the other girl heard every word. Sophie bit her lip lightly, inhaling sharply to indicate her similar apprehensions. Both girls knew how important impartiality and separating emotion were for their studies, but their subjects just seemed so human, it was difficult. One thing that they seemed to silently agree on was that they couldn't let Black Ops at the "elves." 

Once, purely by accident, they managed to wander too far down a corridor in the security wing. Just as they were about to turn around, a door opened to a room washed in bright white light, blood paining the floor. They only managed to catch a slight glimpse of the scene inside, but the image of a man splayed out like a pinned insect, fingers bend backwards, nails planted in tender flesh, and all the signs of oxygen deprivation in splattered blood vessels would haunt both of their dreams for years to come. Out of that room had stepped am ordinary man who would have appeared rather unimposing if not for his all black attire and the right red blood which smeared his face. 

Threat to security or not, Abigail couldn't imagine subjecting any being to such treatment. 

"These things are incredibly intelligent," Abigail broke the silence by speaking to Sophie as they watched the "elves" waking abruptly when the lights in their enclosure were turned on. 

"I know... but they seem to lack an understanding of modern technology."

Both girls watched as food was delivered by the same five soldiers as the day before. Along with the food were two more green hospital style gowns for the remaining two subjects to change into which the soldiers tossed in their direction, leaving without a word. The pair watched with fascination, always scribbling down notes, as Subjects 2 and 3 appeared to be in some sort of argument, almost bickering if Abigail were to give her opinion, in their strange and musical tongue. Eventually, it seemed that Subject 2 won the argument and both subjects changed. This did give Abigail the opportunity to note that they were both male as well.

"I doubt that they know what the one-way glass is," Sophie mused.

"I doubt even more that they know that they are being recorded."

"Then we've got to approach the interrogation carefully. It's better if they don't know that they are being observed." 

"I agree completely," as Abigail spoke she placed an earwig in her left ear, taking care to hide it behind her hair. "I'll have my piece in, but only use it in an emergency. Their hearing is incredible and I don't want them listening in."

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Safer than the alternative."

***

Elrond was idly stroking the strange and crinkling fabric of the tunic that he was given to wear. The fabric was of an extraordinarily fine weave and also incredibly thin. If elves were not so immune to cold, then the room would likely be chilly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched how Erestor fretted over the dangling strings of the loose garments, eyeing that sash that had been attached to his robe with envy. While the Edain had not spoken when they gave the elves their new garments, it was not difficult to extrapolate their intentions after Glorfindel returned from his healing session dressed in the same garb. 

Although Elrond did not show it, he too was loath to part with his favorite robes. Nonetheless, both his and Erestor's garments were folded neatly next to the door beside their breakfast dishes. It seemed that the Edain had honed in on the elves' preferences for fruits, breads, cheeses, and few meats as there was a greater variety of said food items for their meal. 

Just as Elrond was about to walk across the small room to check on Glorfindel once more, the doors opened. In stormed the same five men, stopping in their heavy boots. Elrond and Erestor both moved away from the door and stood beside where Glorfindel remained sitting in the corner furthest from the door. Elrond could see the fear shining in Erestor's eyes as he gazed at that strange metal stick that had caused him such pain the last time the men came. 

"Subject two, step forward immediately," the leader called out gruffly, pulling forth a pair of thin metal shackles. 

Elrond, knowing that such was the title they gave to him, stepped forward slowly. He dustily ignored the pleading look that Erestor gave him as he moved away from the safety of his companions and closer to their captors. 

"Please," he spoke with care. "I have not disturbed Glorfindel's bandages. We have no desire to be separated." Part of Elrond reminded him that he should be negotiating for their release. However, the wiser part of his mind that he so oft deferred to his old days of ruling Imaldris was far too aware that such was futile. _Negotiate what is possible, _it reminded him. 

"I will not ask again."

Elrond, realizing that any pleas were futile, stood to his full height and walked proudly forward. The men rapidly shackled his wrists and pushed his forward, out the door and through a winning series of corridors until he came to an abrupt stop outside a door. The men opened the door a revealed a dimly lit grey chamber with a metal table and two chairs at the center. One of the chairs appeared to be secured to the floor, and it was this chair that they pushed him into, removing the wrist shackles only to secure either wrist to the arms of the chair. The men then secured his ankles to the chair legs and strapped a band across his chest. All this they did with the practiced efficiency of a trained group of soldiers. 

Before he could ask what this was about, the men left and were quickly replaced by a young woman who matched Glorfindel's descriptions of "Doctor Ito." She walked in and placed a small stack of papers on the desk, crossing her legs and shuffling through her stack of papers. She hardly acknowledged Elrond and the elf thought for one incredulous moment that she had somehow not noticed him until she finally spoke. 

"Subject two," she looked up from her papers and fixed him with a piercing gaze. "I understand that you speak English fluently. I will be asking you a series of questions and you will answer honestly and to the best of your abilities."

"My name is Elrond Earendilion, Peredhil," he spoke evenly. "Might I inquire your name?"

The young girl smiled tightly before replying. 

"Okay Elrond. My name is Doctor Ito."

"Well met, Doctor Ito. What is it that you seek to know?" Elrond determined that the best strategy would likely be to humor these Edains, especially once such as this Doctor Ito. With the way that Glorfindel described her, it seemed that this slight young girl held command over the other men in the facility, the men who harmed both Glorfindel and Erestor. I would be unwise to anger her, but perhaps in his benefit to appease her. 

"Is Earendilion or Peredhil your surname?" she placed a thin stick of wood against her paper. "A name passed on through your family," she added in explanation. 

"In a way it is," his voice flowed smoothly as he explained his heritage. "Earnedilion means Son of Earendil who was my father. Peredhil means half-elven which is my heritage."

"If you are half elven then what is your other half?"

"Edain, or of the race of man if you prefer."

Elrond watched in mild fascination as the young Edain nearly dropped her strange writing stick in shock, looking up towards him with wide eyes.

"Are you saying that your mother or father was human?"

"Neither," Elrond corrected gently, dinghies best to not squirm in his bindings. "Peredhil does not imply exactly half a split in blood, merely mixed blood. My father's father was a human man who fell in love with Idril, an elven princess who was daughter of Turgon, the King of Gondolin. The bloodlines of my family have been mixed many times, although I chose long ago to belong to the race of elves."

As he finished his speech, Doctor Ito moved to a small cabinet and pulled forth a white box. She removed a strange needle attached to a glass vial, a thin band of material, and a small towel. She immediacy moved over to his side of the table and wiped the small towel across the crook of his elbow before tying the thin material incredibly tightly. 

"Might I inquire as to what you are doing?" He asked with a slight bit of apprehension creeping into his voice. Ever sense setting foot in this strange world, it seemed as if his foresight had fled him. He could only receive vague feelings and little in the way of future knowledge. 

"I am taking a blood sample. You will feel a small prick." 

As she said that, she inserted the needle into his arm and Elrond watched with fascination as the glass vial slowly filled with his own blood. She replaced the glass cylinder a few more times, each time filling it with his easily flowing blood. She finished by pulling the needle out and pressing a small pad of white cotton to the wound until it closed after a few seconds. 

"If you wish to know the exact measurements of my blood, then I can inform you that I am 3/8ths Edain, 5/16th Sindar or Grey Elf, 5/32 Vanyar or High Elf, 3/32 Noldor or Deep Elf, and 1/16th Maiar."

The human rapidly scribbled this information down on her paper, taking absolutely no care for her penmanship. Elrond idly thought that if she was an apprentice of his he would scold her dearly for lacking such in care. 

"And your companions?"

Elrond hesitated slightly at the request, usually not being one to share the secrets of others. However, he also knew that it was imperative that he remain in this Edain's good graces. Besides, he reasoned, _what harm could come from sharing such things as are legends?_

"Erestor is 1/8th Edain, 7/8th Noldor. Glorfindel is half Noldor, half Vanyar. It is his Vanyar blood which grants him is most distinct features," Elrond added the last part as an afterthought, recalling how different the golden haired elf must look compared to Elrond and Erestor's rather Noldor-like features. 

"So he is the only one of your companions whose blood is pure elven," she mused, ever writing. 

"Yes..." Elrond hesitated as he considered his next words. "I would like to thank you for healing his wound as I was unable to attend to them myself."

When he spoke those words, Doctor Ito looked up sharply. 

"His wound... yes. It is time we talked about that." When she spoke, she put her writing stick down and fixed Elrond with that piercing glare. "What did you do to heal his wound."

"I so not know what you refer to," Elrond ignored the sharp sting of panic as he realized exactly what she was referring to. "As I had no supplies, I only bound his wound the best I could with strips from my tunic. We are lucky that we Eldar heal faster than Edain."

"You know exactly what I am referring to," her tone turned aggressive. "Glorfindel's wound had weeks worth of healing and even if you "Eldar" supposedly heal faster, whatever occurred was not natural. You have done well so far in answering my questions honestly. Do not start lying to me now."

"I am sorry, but I cannot help you further," a hint of steel crept into Elrond's voice as he realized that the Edain was not fooled by his deception. He hoped that she would give up as instinct warned him that the Edain of this word were far too early frightened to be told of magic. 

"I gave you a chance Elrond," was all she said before she walked to the door and stepped out of the room. Elrond sat in silence for a few minutes, anxiety creeping into his veins as he weighted the words of Doctor Ito. He did not have long to wait however as the door soon opened to Doctor Ito once more. However, this time she was not alone. 

Trailing behind her were the same men from earlier. Doctor Ito stepped forward, taking her earlier place at the other side of the metal table. One of the men closed the door behind him, clicking it shut. 

Two of the men remained in the shadow of the others. At a nod from Doctor Ito, they stepped forward. Both men were armed with those frightful metal sticks. But, what truly drew Elrond's eyes was what was held between them:

Erestor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was a lot of dialogue! So this one definitely ended up longer than I though it would. Anyway... as always, let me know what you think!


	6. Interrogations

Elrond's eyes froze on his counselor, his trusted confidant, his friend. Erestor had an expression of pure alarm on his face. His arms were wretched behind his back, likely bound with those same metal shackles that they used on him. The usually so stern elf's hair was wildly tousled, the thin tunic that they were given to wear had ridden up his legs and was crumpled horribly. 

"_My Lord_," he gasped. 

The elven lord looked down on himself and quickly realized what he must look like, strapped down to a chair secured to the floor. It looked like some sort of torture contraption. One of the men, seemingly realizing that Erestor had indeed spoken in Sindarin, signaled for the two men holding Erestor to drop him so that he could press his metal stick to the elf's side. Erestor screams, convulsing on the floor for several seconds before the soldier's superior waved him off. 

Elrond was so shocked by the sudden assault that he did not have time to react. Instead, he remained frozen until Erestor caught his breath at which point he looked up at Doctor Ito. The young Edain's face had lost any of its previous curiosity. Now, her entire countenance was impassible. She looked neither sympathetic nor vicious, just cold. 

"Translate," she ordered. 

"H-he merely addressed me," Elrond stuttered out, still shocked by not just the extreme turn to cruelty, but also by the manner in which they tormented Erestor. These Edain had captured fire without heat, held weapons that could wound faster than an elven drawn bow, and a way to torture by mere touch. "We speak no secrets," he whispered, not taking his eyes off Erestor who was slowly regaining composure. 

"Translate," she spoke again, voice not wavering from its empty tone.

"He addressed me, he refereed to me as "my lord" for he was once a counselor in my realm," he spoke quickly and honestly when one of the soldiers lifted his stick. 

"And what realm was this?" she asked. 

"Imaldris, known in the common tongue as Rivendell. We called it the Last Homely House... it was an elven realm."

"Hmmm," she mused. Doctor Ito then nodded her head in one sharp gesture. She turned to the leader of the soldiers and held out her hand. 

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it Doc?" the man answered her unspoken request. She merely continued to stare at him with that stony gaze and the soldier seemed to take that as a "no." He reached behind his back and pulled out what looked to be a smaller version of the bizarre metal weapon that injured Glorfindel. 

She ran her fingers along it with the type of ease and confidence that a trained warrior handles a sword; movements steady and firm, neither clutching nor fretting the steel, merely running her hands along it to test its build. Elrond watched in fascination as the triggered a small switch on the side, causing a short, metal tube to be ejected from it. She tapped on another piece of metal inside the tube before sliding it back into place. She then looked up at Elrond. 

"Do you know what this is?"

"I cannot claim such," he watched Erestor tense from the corner of his eye. 

"This is a gun," her voice was strangely empty and perhaps because of this, all the more deadly. Edain were always a passionate lot, but in this moment she held no passions at all. "It is the same as the weapon used to injure your other companion. Do not be fooled by its size, it is just as deadly," she pulled back at the top of the "gun" which made an ominous click as it slid partially back. "It's now cocked or "loaded" so to speak." pulled back again and slowly lowered it forward. "Even from here all I have to do is tap this," her finger brushed along a small metal pin, "and a chunk of metal shoots out faster than any arrow, perfectly straight." 

Elrond resisted the urge to shutter, keeping his gaze as level as possible with Doctor Ito. 

"I understand," he spoke with a confidence in his voice far greater than that in his heart. 

"Good," was all she said before half turning and pointing the gun directly at Erestor's head. There was an audible gasp from both Erestor and Elrond. The soldiers holding Erestor tightened their grip as the elf grew completely still, eyes blown wide in shock. "Now, you will tell me what you did to heal Subject 1."

Elrond's mind raced through every possible way of getting out of this situation. Any sort of solution that did not cause his stomach to roll as it did in that moment. 

"I did nothing," he paused for a moment, hesitating before his next words. "You will not kill him," he finally forced out. In all his years, all his battles, he had never felt as off balance as he did. "We are valuable to you."

"He is one of three," as she spoke, she shifted her aim downwards until it was pointed at his side, the same spot where Glorfindel was injured. "If you will not tell me how you healed Subject 1, then I will conduct this scientifically. I will injure him in the same manner and isolate him. Then, I will be able to see if he heals in the same manner."

"No," Elrond tried to rise up, but the restraints holding him were strong. 

"You will either tell me how or I will conduct my experiment as I see fit." 

Elrond opened his mouth, a half truth already forming when she stopped him with her voice once more. 

"Take care to speak the truth. If I don't believe you then I just might conduct my experiment anyway."

Elrond hung his head for a moment before looking into Doctor Ito's impassive gaze, expressing the truth in his words with his now open expression. 

"I am one of very few elves who posses the gift of healing. It is an ancient and strong magic and mine comes from the Maiar blood running through my veins," he paused, trying to gauge if Doctor Ito believed him, but her expression remained perfectly blank. "Healing is a very delicate magical art. It involves me taking some of my life energy and transferring it into the sight of a wound. It is a draining process and we elves generally prefer to use more conventional means of care. Only when a situation is desperate do we call upon our magic."

"You speak of life energy," she gave no indication of belief or disbelief in her tone. "Does this shorten your natural lifespan?"

Elrond looked to Erestor for a moment, still held between the two soldiers, the deadly gun still pointed at his side. When they locked eyes his faithful counselor gave a quick jerk of his head, a motion that would likely be imperceivable to a mortal, but it was one he saw easily enough. Oh how loyal he always was, even now when his life was in danger, he wished for Elrond to reveal no more. 

But, Elrond was selfish. He could not bear to see Erestor suffer and so he answered truthfully. 

"We have no natural lifespan. Elves are immortal beings."

Doctor Ito remained in place, seeming to contemplate for several moments more. Finally, she drew back the gun, much to the relief of the elves in the room, and handed it back to the soldier. Walking to the corner of the room, she grasped a large, hulking piece of metal. The thing whirred silently and Elrond could hear the ever present buzz in the air coming from it in higher volumes. She wheeled the strange device close to Erestor and adjusted it so that several strange tubes and pieces pointed at the rather confused elf.

Doctor Ito then pulled a small metal case from the pocket of her strange white coat and from it drew forth an incredibly thin blade. She turned to Elrond. 

"I will make a small incision along his arm. The soldiers will then release you from your bonds and you will heal him while I watch. If you refuse then I will take the gun and shoot him. Your choices will then be to either heal him or watch him die. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Elrond replied, throat dry. "You needn't injure Erestor," he continued to speak. "If you take me to your healing halls then I would be happy to demonstrate my abilities. I will freely share our knowledge with you."

Doctor Ito did not respond to his request, instead she strode over to Erestor who stiffened in the soldiers' arms. She ignored his obvious fear and, without hesitation, drew the thin blade across Erestor's skin, making a gash approximately three inched long and half an inch deep. Erestor closed his eyes and winced slightly.

"I do not think that I will need to remind you of the consequences of attempting to attack me or the men," she stated as she took a step backwards.

"No, you do not."

With those words, two soldiers stepped forward and undid his bindings, leaving his hands free as they pulled him from his chair and shoved him firmly in the direction of Erestor. Elrond walked slowly as to not startle the men still bearing those metal sticks and guns. He knelt by Erestor's side. 

The other elf's eyes were blown wide, his face far paler than it should be as a thin trickle of dark red blood dripped to the floor. He again shook his head, the unspoken words floating through the air thick with tension. _You don't have to, I will be fine, _Elrond could practically hear the words, but he would not listen. He knew that he had to satisfy the dangerous curiosity of the Edain. 

He placed one hand over the thin wound on Erestor's arm. Although such would likely be mildly serious on a man, on an elf it was but a minor injury and would never be treated with Elrond's gift under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes and began slowly humming, allowing the ancient music to pull energy from him own body and push it into Erestor's wound. Vessels stopped their flow and flesh knitted itself back together as the ancient magic flowed through his body, draining his own life force to replenish Erestor's flesh. He could feel the heat of the healing magic, the hum in the back of mind as the Valar sang along. 

Finally, when he felt the last threads of sting closing over each other, he stepped his song. Elrond allowed his arms to drop to his sides as he fell from a crouch to a sitting position, the energy momentarily drained from him. 

Soldiers immediately approached him from behind, restraining his wrists behind his back and pulling him to his reluctant feet. Doctor Ito moved from where she was standing to observe the affair, approaching Erestor and quickly checking his wound. She found that true to his word, Elrond healed the wound perfectly, only the blood that was first spilled remained as evidence for elves do not scar easily. 

She pulled a small metal stick from the strange contraption and turned curtly to the leader of the soldiers. 

"We're done here. Return them to their holding."

With that she left, shutting the door loudly behind her and the soldiers were left to follow her instructions, pulling a still terrified Erestor to his feet and marching them back to their cell where they were reunited with Glorfindel. Lunch was served and for a few hours, a silent truce remained in place where none spoke of or asked the other about the situation they were stuck in. Each elf silently contemplated, and each elf privately either prayed to or cursed Eru. 

***

Abigail just about slammed the door behind her, only managing to take out her earpiece and throw it somewhere in the vicinity of the table before she stormed out of Project Sidhe's wing of he base, pushing through every door and nearly bowling over several people on her way to the General's office. When she arrived, she ignored the startled looking Private standing guard outside and threw the door open without knocking. 

The General's head shot up at the intrusion, a clearly displeased frown crossed his face, but Abigail paid it no mind. Instead, she kicked the chair in front of his desk aside and slammed a USB drive onto his desk. Leaning over, she brought her face mere inches away from his, 

"This isn't science," she spat. "This is fucking madness. This is what your goddamned toy soldiers are meant to be doing."

The General did not seemed at all perturbed by Abigail's temper, merely scooting his chair back a few inches so as to avoid being further spat on. 

"I assume that this is the information that I requested?" he raised one eyebrow with the question. 

"Close up camera, electromagnetic fields, infrared, vibration detecter, scanning electron microscope footage, and about 12 other variables that I haven't listed. Browse through at you leisure," she hissed. 

"Where's the report?"

"You're not getting one. Those reports detail scientific exploration. What you just had me do wasn't fucking science."

"My my, you have quite the temper," he sounded amused as he spoke. "And I didn't make you do anything. I gave you a choice to extract the information your way or I would do it my way. I must say though," he smiled. "I am curious as to how you pulled it off. In all honesty I didn't expect for you to be successful with how short of a time period I gave you. How exactly did you convince it to do it?"

"Ask your little soldiers," he spat out, leaning back to stand with her back straight and arms crossed. "They're there to spy for you anyway." She turned and moved to storm out of the office, but the General's voice called her back.

"Dr. Ito," he called in a sterner voice this time. "I will not tolerate insubordination in this facility."

"I'll say whatever I damn well please," she turned sharply to glare at him. "Remember, I'm not one of your men."

"You will take care with what you say Dr. Ito. You work in a highly restricted sphere of the government."

"I'm no idiot. I know the forms that I signed and I know how to keep a secret," she smirked at these words. "Isn't that right General."

The man's face turned bright red as anger caused a vein on his forehead to pulse at an alarming rate. Abigail could swear that she could feel the heat of his flush radiating off his form and her smirk grew in size.

"You're dismissed," he stated tersely, fists clenched on his desk. 

"I was already leaving," she turned back and was about to exit, but paused with her hand still on the door handle. "And General," she stood facing the door, not turning as she spoke. "I indulged you this once, but the next you try to pull something like this... I will _not _hesitate to remind you that you belong at a desk, and I belong in the lab. Stop trying to overstep your boundaries dear. It's gotten you in so much trouble in the past."

With that, she exited his office before he could say another word, striding back through the hallways to her lab. When she arrived, Sophie was already compiling a list of behavioral observations that detailed their interactions from the moment Subjects 2 and 3 were reunited with Subject 1.

"Aside from an extreme amount of exhaustion in Subject 2," she spoke without being prompted and for once Abigail was immensely grateful for her friend's ever garrulous nature. "There doesn't seem to be much of a change in their behavior. Previous observations are holding up well."

"Good. We'll need to monitor them as this continues. I believe Subject 3 was reluctant to be healed by Subject 2, such may change social dynamics in the near future." Sophie nodded her head before adding, 

"I took the liberty of sending the data from the... uhhh _experiment _to the lab team and they're analyzing all the info as we speak. They said that they should have a report on it by day after tomorrow." At this, Sophie did a half turn in her chair, the metal squeaking slightly as she lofted a brightly lit tablet screen to show Abigail. "But the most interesting thing... the report from the team at the acquisition site came in."

Abigail quickly snatched the screen from Sophie's hands, but, before she could read it Sophie smacked a $50 on top of it, a smile stretching impossibly wide across her face. Abigail froze for a moment in shock. 

"No..." she snatched the bill of the screen so that she could see the readings. "No way... God you're serious." Her voice rose with excitement, mind whirling at the possibilities before her. 

"Electromagnetic fields off the charts and based on what they found... or perhaps better put what they didn't find... incredibly high levels of dark matter," her grin was like a Cheshire cat's now. "They're not alien, but they're not from around here either, the tecs analyzed the micro-vibrational patterns of the Subjects... they're on an entirely different frequency. I have to admit that you were right, they're from a different universe."

"Oh my God..." Abigail was still in shock. "I mean, this isn't conclusive yet... but if we operate under the assumption that they are beings from an alternative dimension then that opens up so many... wait!" She explained, suddenly remembering something. "This isn't the first time our dimensions have held contact with one another, that book, that stupid book about the Elves and rings... too much of a coincidence, they've got to be the same Elrond."

"You're saying that someone wrote a book about our Subjects... as in these actual individuals?"

"I can't be certain, Elrond could be a title or a family name or something... but the connection is too similar. We need to get a copy of that book."

"I'll set the interns on it," she nodded, immediately turning to her computer and tapping away. 

"Until then," Abigail added, turning to her massive notebook on her own desk where she began jotting down notes taken from the tablet. "I want a team of linguists listening in on their conversations and seeing what they can interpret. I want to know what they're saying."


	7. Stories

"Anything interesting?" Abigail asked, pulling her white lab coat on as she walked into the office. 

"Subjects 1 and 3 slept with their eyes open, but Subject 2 kept his eyes shut. I would expect it has to do with his exhaustion," the observational researcher leading the night shift delivered a summary of the report he was handing to Abigail.

"And the book?"

"A pair of interns boarded a flight to Massachusetts this morning and should be arriving at Harvard in the evening. They'll have full access to the physical and digital library. If they still have the book there, they'll find it."

"Thanks Issac..."

"Subject 2 asked about you," he interrupted, a slightly anxious expression on his face. "When the men went in to deliver their breakfast, he asked if he could speak with you."

Abigail hummed in though, thanking the man once again before he left, walking in the direction of the residence quarters. Abigail brewed her morning tea and set about filing the papers that she took home the night before. She had finished analyzing the data from Subject 2's "healing" of Subject 3 and had several computer programs that she would need to run it through. 

"So the Lord wishes to speak with you," Sophie teased as she settled into her own desk. 

"Lord?"

"Isn't that what he called himself, a _Lord?"_

"Well retrieval did call them British," Abigail chuckled at the thought. "I should probably go talk to them though," Abigail sighed, deciding that it was best for her to figure out exactly what they wanted anyway. 

She pressed a button to call the soldiers over as it was against protocol to enter the holding room without the soldiers present. The "elves" had already proven themselves dangerous on more than one occasion. With the soldiers flanking her, she walked up to the solid steel door, checking the monitor to find them all sitting huddled somewhat together in one corner of their cell. 

The soldiers unlocked the door and Abigail stepped in, only two men following her as per her request. It was obvious that the creatures were already intimidated, they didn't need so many men baring their modified cattle prods to keep them in check. 

"I was told you wished to speak to me," Abigail stated, watching how Subject 2 immediately stood and held back his hand, motioning for the two others to remain seated. 

"Yes," he hesitated for a moment. "Might I request we speak alone."

"If you want the soldiers gone then we have to remove you from your room and restrain you."

The other darker haired one, Subject 3 made as if to say something, but he was cut off my the hand Subject 2, once more apparently placating him. 

"That is unnecessary. Though I have no intention of harming you, I understand and we may speak here. I merely wish to ask you when you intend on setting us free.”

”We’ll think about it,” she replied curtly.

The creature nodded slowly in understanding. Abigail could immediately tell that he wasn’t buying it... he knew they had not intention of releasing them.

”Then might I request a few comforts for us?” he spoke gently eyes downcast. Abigail would’ve sworn that he looked close to pleading. 

“What would your requests be?” If anything, Abigail could at least take this as a way to gather information on what “elves” preferred.

“Although we don’t feel the cold much, some blankets or something soft to sleep on would be appreciated. Also, if you will not administer draughts for Glorfindel's pain, then perhaps would you grant me some herbs to prepare for him.” He hesitated, looking backwards towards his companions. “But, what we truly need... is time outside.”

"You want us to let you out?" she asked incredulously. 

"The air in this place is foul and lit by unnatural light. Elves fade without the fresh breeze and light of sun and stars."

"I can't let you out."

"Please..." a hint of desperation crept into his voice. "Glorfindel is recovering from his wound and this place is like a slow poison. We are not beings meant to be confined. We will fade."

"Fade?" her interest was suddenly peaked and Abigail knew that on the other side of the mirror, Sophie was typing furiously.

"Yes..." he hesitated again. "We elves are comprised of a... body and a... soul. If our spirits suffer from pain too great... then our soul will sever itself from our body and we will die."

"I'll see what I can do," was all she said on that manner before recalling his other request. "What herbs do you normally use for healing and pain?"

"Willow and valerian are common herbs," he spoke slowly, continuing with a rather length list, only a few plants being recognizable to Abigail. A small part of her was rather surprised that they had any plants commonly named, however willow meant salicin, and likely aspirin was safe. 

Mind made up, Abigail turned to Subject 1. "Glorfindel, I will be examining your wound. Stand and come with us."

For a moment, she thought that he would resist. However, a single look from Subject 2 and he moved to comply, gritting slightly through the pain as he stood and allowed the soldiers to cuff his wrists. He nodded in a gesture that Abigail assumed to be reassuring to his companions before being led out. Once again, the soldiers put the elf through the tiresome process of blindfolding and a rather annoyingly complicated route which Abigail skipped, choosing instead to head to the examination room early and prep her supplies. 

Eventually, the soldiers did bring the elf into the room and stripped him of his gown, despite his muttered protests, strapping him to the examination table. Although her shoes made no sound as she walked, the elf knew that she approached, turning his head and seemingly attempting to gaze at her through his blindfold. Abigail removed the unecessary piece of cloth and was once again struck by the beauty and depth of his eyes. When she leaned closer, she found that his eyes were nearly glowing- far more than usual for simple reflection. She made a quick note about the feature before proceeding with the examination of his wound.

"Doctor Ito?"

"Yes?"

"Is it really necessary to remove all my clothing during this examination? It is hardly proper."

Abigail took a moment to step back and found that yes... his cheeks and the tips of his ears were turning red. She wrote down another few observations before rinsing and re-bandaging his wounded side. 

"The stitchings are healing at an incredibly rapid rate."

"My healing is far slower than it should be."

"Why?"

"Confinement."

"Ah yes... perhaps we can work something out if you continue to cooperate."

"We answer all your questions and do not resist. Why do you confine us so?"

"You three landed in the middle of a top secret US military research facility. You're beings beyond current human knowledge and are so far categorized as a Level 6 threat."

"We have harmed no one."

"You carry a sword," Abigail pointed out, still taking pictures of the way that his wound had closed up so quickly. She avoided direct eye contact, continuing to speak in an effort to keep Glorfindel talking. 

"Yes, it is true that I am a warrior... but I have always wielded my sword in the protection of innocents. Please..."

At that last word Abigail was torn away form her measurements, from the security blanket that she formed of cold science. She made the mistake of gazing into those deep deep eyes that were so human-like, but also so much more. She saw the pain and the suffering that he was experiencing and it felt like a stab in her chest. She quickly broke gazes and wrote something down on her clipboard. In truth, she didn't even know what she was writing... just anything to distract her from the elf pleading for his freedom. 

She had worked in a lot of labs, on a lot of subjects. She was not a researcher immune to the cries of wildlife and she always strived to conduct her work in the most ethically humane way possible. She didn't believe in animal testing for cosmetics nor the necessary cruelty that she had seen in some facilities... but she was also practical. She knew that a testing had to be done on live subjects in certain cases and she always strove to conduct such testing in a manner to cause minimal harm to the creature. She was never cruel, but always careful to not project humanity where there was not. 

These creatures were far more human than she ever imagined. 

"We do not know how we arrived here... we never meant to trespass, but long ago we were protectors of the Edain-" he continued to speak and Abigail, like a coward, refused to meet his gaze. "We will not survive long, locked in these walls."

"I'll take care of it," she snapped and left the room, quickly informing the soldiers that they could take him back. 

She plopped herself down at he desk and began to write up a request form. She scanned the paper and sent it in just as Sophie entered her office. She dropped a stack of printed notes on the edge of Abigail's desk and she made a half hearted sound of thanks. Sophie chuckled, shaking her head and commenting about Abigail's aversion to computers. Abigail, as usual, brushed off her friends barbs for it was true that she avoided using computers whenever possible, instead keeping all her reports written by hand. 

"You know we've done enough observation," Sophie spoke as casually as she could, but Abigail could hear the edge to her voice. "We've got to start running more than just blood tests."

"Ya," Abigail sighed heavily. "I think we'll run a stress test on Subject 3 today."

"You'll get him to comply?"

"I'll figure it out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I did promise that this wasn't entirely abandoned and look, here I am! 
> 
> I think I'm actively working on too many stories so there is gonna be a decent wait between updates, but I promise I haven't abandoned any of them.


	8. Tests

"Subject 3, Erestor correct?" Abigail was standing in front of the three elves, all huddled in the corner since Subject 1 was returned to them. 

The smaller dark haired elf nodded his head slowly. 

"You will come with me," at her words a pair of soldiers stepped forward with the usual cuffs. Erestor hesitated a moment before he reluctantly stood. 

"Why are you-" Subject 2, Elrond as Abigail had come to know, began to speak but she cut him off. 

"So long as everyone cooperates he will be returned to you alive. Please don't struggle," the second part was more directed towards Erestor than Elrond, but both nodded. 

As per usual, Abigail met the soldiers and her subject in the testing room, however this time it was set up with a treadmill and a large rack of machinery beside it. The soldiers removed his chains and stepped back, but one remained at the door and the other remained behind Abigail just in case her subject decided to go rouge. 

Said elf seemed to be attempting to make himself as small as possible as he awkwardly stood in the middle of the room. He was suspiciously eyeing the equipment laid out and Abigail figured that it would be best to explain what was going on. After all, it makes sense to explain things to the test subject if they can indeed understand as it would aide in their cooperation and thus make the experiment more successful... it had nothing to do her wanting him to understand why she was doing what she was. 

"Today I'll be performing a stress and endurance test on you. I'll hook you up to this machine and it'll monitor your vitals while you run. Simple." She watched him slowly nod, still not speaking. "Remove your gown," she ordered as she set up her equipment. At that order, the elf hesitated. He grasped the bottom of the flimsy hospital gown and seemed to play with the fabric for a little while. His hesitancies were soon cut short as one of the soldiers stepped forward with his electric prod.

Once he had shucked off his shirt, Abigail and a few of the researchers on her team began applying the electrodes. She tried her best to ignore the way Erestor trembled slightly at the automatic blood pressure cuff and stepped back for a moment to check the standing readings. To her surprise, despite the obvious fear emanating from the elf his heartbeat was rather slow. She then brought forth the mask and explained as patiently as she could that the mask and attached tube were merely so that she could measure his breath. He didn't seem to quite believe her, but in the end he seemed to decide that the mask was less risky than the discipline of the soldiers. 

Once he was fully hooked up, Abigail stepped back to the monitor and started the treadmill at an easy walking pace. Although he appeared startled by the sudden movement, he quickly caught on. Once the elf had a rhythm going, Abigail began to slowly increase the speed of the treadmill, watching in amazement as his heart rate remained steady. Eventually, Abigail found herself taking a seat as she allowed the elf to continue running. She was busy writing down notes when one of soldier who had previously been standing near the door was suddenly behind her. 

"Doctor Ito?" she asked, her voice surprisingly soft. 

"Yes?" Abigail tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, but she was still unused to being interrupted but the soldiers when working. 

"Is- is he okay?"

That got Abigail to look up from her notes. The elf had been running at 20 miles per hour for the past two hours... and that was after running 15 miles per hour for an initial three. He seemed to finally be tiring as the first signs of visible sweat ran down his brow and his breathing increased. 

"Generally in this type of test," Sophie, having entered a few hours into the test, piped in, "they'll run until they collapse. It gives us a good baseline of what their endurance limits are."

Abigail turned slightly and noticed that the soldier looked a bit concerned. She was on the younger side as far as personnel at the facility went and although Abigail really couldn't recognize too many faces in the sea of soldiers she saw every day, she was pretty certain that this girl was new. She stood there hesitantly, her fingers drumming a rhythm against her pant leg as she bit her lip lightly. Her wide eyes were fixed on the elf still running not the treadmill. 

"You may return to your post," Abigail stated cooly. She really didn't need to deal with soldiers all that much. Once the soldier was out of earshot, Sophie began to speak.

"You know, when the General finds out that we've been running this all day instead of investigating the healing abilities... he's gonna flip."

"Well that's not his decision. The healing appeared to be visibly draining on Subject 2 and we need biological baselines on these before we can proceed. I'm not going to risk killing one of them to satisfy the General's impatience."

Sophie smirked a bit at that. 

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Subject 3 crashed to the ground. Sophie immediately jumped forward to turn off the treadmill whilst Abigail whipped out her little recorder and pressed play as she rushed towards Subject 3. Her eyes were flickering between her subject and the vitals which seemed to have finally spiked too high. 

She and Sophie immediately lifted him by his shoulders and feet, moving him to lay flat on the ground. The checked that all their monitoring equipment was still hooked up as they recorded his recovery. From the corner of her eye, Abigail saw how the young soldier from earlier had taken a half step forward as if to help, but remained near her post in a hesitant manner. Abigail didn't have time to deal with her at the moment though and thus, she was glad that the girl through twice about stepping forward. 

"After 5 hours and 23 minutes, Subject 3 collapsed from exhaustion," she spoke out loud, her recorder in her pocket collecting the data for her to write down later. "Subject 3 recovery initiation, although Subject 3 appears to be recovering far sooner than baseline human athletes. No water or electrolyte solutions were administered during running period."

"Heart rate returning to normal, recovery 3 minutes in," Sophie added. 

"Subject 3 appears stable, once baseline is reached, water and oral electrolyte solutions will be administered," Abigail noted as Sophie went to go and fetch said products. "Erestor, can you hear me?"

"...yes," his voice was strained and his eyes were filled with fear as he spoke. 

"You did well in that test," she reassured him before resuming her examination, continuing to make verbal notes as she did. "Subject 3 displays flushing of face and extremities, elevated temperature, and perspiration." As she spoke, she absentmindedly stroked the back of his hand, doing her best to remind herself that such a gesture of comfort wasn't unusual for her to use with other lab specimens. 

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted her notes. 

"Specialist Lewison," she recognized the soldier who was standing in the entryway. "How can I help you?"

"Dr. Ito," he spoke pleasantly enough, if not a bit formal. "The General wishes to speak to you about your request."

"Which one?" Sophie asked with a chuckle. It was no secret that Abigail was always rather _forward _in her requests for equipment and supplies. 

"The one about... taking the Subjects outside."

"Oh ya..." Abigail remembered the earlier request. "Alright, just a minute." She turned to Dr. Shan, another member of her team. "Dr. Shan, I want you to get a full metabolic bloodwork panel done on him asap." He nodded and she turned to Sophie and Dr. Monet. "Once the blood is drawn, take a full x-ray panel, CT, and MRI. I want to establish a complete baseline before we continue on the other subjects."

They all nodded in affirmation turned to their tasks, but Abigail grabbed Sophie's elbow as she passed.

"Hey, Dr. Evens' lab is studying carcinogens, right?" She asked her friend.

"Oh uh... I don't think I'd uh... know what Ryan- er, Dr. Evans is working on," she was suddenly nervously stuttering, a rosy flush coming to her cheeks. 

"Mhmm, sure," Abigail wasn't at all convinced, but she continued nonetheless. "Well when you get a free moment today, could you head on over to _Ryan's _lab and ask him if he has any subjects slated for termination?"

"Stage, species?"

"Any. I want to test Subject 2's healing abilities and I figure cancerous lab animals slated for euthanasia is a good place to start observations."

"I- I'll get on it," Sophie muttered before walking off. Abigail watched her for a moment with a chuckle on her lips at her close friend. She loved Sophie but the girl was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

Abigail then turned with a tight smile to go with the soldier waiting for her. Sophie offered her a lopsided smirk and a whispered "good luck" as she followed him out the door in the direction of the General's office. Abigail knew that this was coming, there was no way that the General would allow her to do something so "against protocol" without throwing a hissy fit. 

"So," she spoke in a casual voice to Lewison. "On a scale of 1 to someone pissed in his office, how close is the General to exploding at the moment?"

For a few seconds, Abigail assumed that the soldier was going to ignore her mocking question, but to her pleasant surprise he responded. 

"I would have to estimate a solid seven, Dr. Ito," he replied with a voice as formal and serious as always. "He disapproves of both your planned 'reward' system with the subjects which you appear to be focusing your research on."

Abigail huffed a bit at the though of the General once again thinking that he could run her lab. They spent the rest of the walk in silence and Lewison knocked on the door, announced her presence, and disappeared once the door was opened. This left Abigail to step inside and once again face a scowling General.

"Afternoon, General," she put on her best pleasant smile as she plopped herself into a chair. "Did you get a chance to sign that request form yet?"

"This is about that request form," he spoke very slowly and was visibly straining to keep his temper and Abigail had to admit that it was a bit hilarious to watch. 

"Oh, well you didn't need to go through all this trouble to meet me," her smile grew as she saw a vein in the General's forehead throbbing. This was probably one of those occurrences when it's best to "not poke the bear," but it was just a tad too much fun. "I'm not a very needy person. A simple signature would have been just fine!"

"Dr. Ito, I've put up with a lot of your ridiculous requests," he leaned forward, pulling up the file for project Sidhe on his computer. He turned the monitor to show her how her lab was, at the moment, receiving the most funding out of any of the labs at the facility. 

"Now that's hardly fair General. Over 80% of that is for the team analyzing the anomaly where they were found. I'm bio, I don't do physics so I just sign off on what they need. Besides, your boys have been crawling down their throats to get info and the type of equipment they need to study that crap is ridiculously specialized and thus ridiculously expensive. You want results, give them their probes and computers."

"And your expenses-"

"It'll cost exactly nothing to take them outside for a few minutes every night. This isn't about the expenses so can we please cut the crap? I've spent the last five hours running one test and there's still a host more that I want to see done today." 

"If you lose these subjects-"

"I'm not going to loose them," she crossed her arms and leaned forward to meet the General's glare. "D-32-11 has a sunroof that opens three stories up. I'll be taking the subjects in one at a time and they'll be restrained. Even if it turns out that they can jump three stories without a running start, they'll be restrained. They're intelligent enough to understand consequences and from what we've observed this may very well be a necessity for them to function. It's the same reason why we give the lab monkeys toys... they go mad without the stimulation that they require."

"And what makes ya think these creatures are smart enough to understand consequences?"

"They speak English with better grammar than you."

There was a pause and once again, the General's vein was throbbing. 

"I'm having bolts installed to attach their restraints to," the General finally said, leaning back in his chair and clicking away at his computer. His tone had suddenly become dismissive as he realized that Abigail wasn't backing down. 

"Good. I expect it'll be ready by tomorrow?"

"You'll hear when it's ready."

"Excellent," she then quickly left the room before she could get on his nerves once more. 

It was another victory in Abigail's eyes and she wasn't about to ruin it by angering the General further. The two of them had a very precarious truce, or perhaps a ceasefire was a better way to put it. They both poked and prodded at one another, and yet, they both needed each other for their jobs. It was a dangerous game that they played. 

***

Abigail was in the break room preparing some tea for the late night that she knew she was in for. Going into the cabinet, she retrieved her own personal jar of loose leaf tea which she was always very protective of. When she opened the container though, there was a small piece of paper nestled amoung the dried leaves. Curiosity peaked, Abigail pulled the paper out and read it quickly before shoving it into her pocket. 

She continued to make her tea, doing her best to appear as normal as possible. Her mind played over the words in her head and she felt like her pocked held a lump of lead in it. The note read:

_We both know that something wrong is happening here. If you want proof, go to sector G-67-13 at 2:45 a.m. tonight. The cameras will be off in that sector until 3:10. I trust you'll see what's wrong. Trust no one._

The entire base was covered in cameras, but Abigail happened to know that there was no camera pointed at that corner of the break room. No one could have seen her read the note, and so long as she didn't take it out of her pocket again, no one would know. 

But, now she had a choice. Should she follow the mysterious and cryptic note? Who sent the note? She wracked her brain but couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing. In fact, the only person in the entire facility who she thought would come to her in a dire situation was Sophie... and she would be far more direct about it. Part of Abigail just wanted to ignore the note... but another part was far too curious. Everything in the facility was labeled as section-hall-room. Section G was strictly off limits to all but those carrying specialized clearance, the halls in each section only went up to 50, and due to ludicrous superstition there was no such thing as a room 13. Basically, the room listed didn't exist. 

No matter her choice, Abigail knew that the note would be thoroughly distracting for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I'm back!
> 
> Sorry about the massive interval this time. Life's been a little insane and some of my other stories have really taken off so I've been working away on those. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!


	9. Secrets

Abigail felt her heart thrumming in her chest. It was 2:40 am and she was slowly making her way to section G. In her hands was a stack of notes that she flipped through periodically, keeping her eyes firmly planted to the papers as her feet echoed in the empty hallways. She had a reputation at the Station for working late hours and pacing in thought. There had been a number of times when she wandered into sections where she wasn't technically allowed due to her habit, and every time she was politely asked to leave. 

_Section F_

Abigail glanced once at the sign as she did her best to ignored the brightly painted letter on the door as she continued along her way. She hadn't run into a single researcher in over an hour. The only people left at the Station were soldiers standing guard or making hall hearted patrols, and most of those were on the outside. In fact, almost all activity in the Station was located between sections A and E. The rest of the place was largely abandoned. 

_Section G_

She checked her watch. It was 2:45, if the mysterious individual who left the note was telling the truth, then the cameras would be off. She opened the door and started walking. As Abigail walked through the sterile, nondescript corridors of section G, she pondered why she was doing this. She had no idea who this mysterious note-writer was and thus she had no idea if she could trust them. Of course, there was always the chance that this was some sort of elaborate prank, but the sort of folks who worked at Erudition weren't oft inclined towards practical jokes. 

_16_

The corridors passed by her easily enough, each one marked with a little brass number plate. This section seemed to be truly abandoned, there was no dust or sign of disrepair, but the hollow emptiness was palpable. 

_23_

There were fewer security cameras along this corridor, and such a sight would've been a convincing sign that this section truly was mostly abandoned. However, Abigail couldn't help but notice that the cameras were far higher tech and likely incredibly expensive compared to the ones that dotted the rest of the facility. 

_60_

The lights in the facility were automatic, they turned on when they detected motion and turned off once again when a suitable amount of time passed with no movement. She had walked far enough down the corridor that door that she entered from was now shrouded in darkness. She had her own tiny island of fleeting light. 

_67_

She found the hallway that she was looking for and she turned, her footsteps becoming cautious as if she were afraid of someone hearing her approach. 

_Room 2_

She checked her watch, it was only 2:48, apparently she was a fast walker. 

_Room 5_

She was putting a lot of faith into an unknown individual. There was no way for her to be able to verify the warning that was sent though if she didn't do this. 

_Room 7_

What was it her Grandma was always saying about curiosity and the cat? 

_Room 10_

She was so close, she could see the little door number up ahead. 

_Room 13_

She placed her hand on the doorknob, hesitation coloring her every move. With one final push of courage, she opened the door and stepped inside. 

The room was dark. 

Her heart was pounding so loudly, she swore that if anyone were in the room they'd hear her instantly. Her hand moved on instinct, groping at the wall to her left where she knew a light switch would be. When she finally felt the smooth plastic, she pressed down and illuminated a room much like her own observation zone. It was a plain, grey room with a steel table displaying several computer monitors. To her right was a large pane of one-way glass where, in her lab, it revealed a large room that contained her subjects. 

This one was different. 

On the other side of the one-way glass were two cages, steel crates similar to the size used to transport dogs... but the creatures inside weren't dogs. They were elves. Two different, beautiful, and miserable elves folded into cages far too small for their size. 

She rushed forward, nearly pressing her face to the glass in an effort to get a closer look at them, knowing well that they wouldn't be able to see her. Both elves were not merely restrained by their cages, but were also clearly bound with steel cuffs holding their wrists behind their backs and metal collars round their throats. One seemed to have been mostly left alone, but the other... the other looked terrible. 

He, for they were both naked and thus easy to sex, had a Hickman line with three catheters taped to his chest. One of them appeared to be occupied with a bag of saline, another was empty, and the third seemed to be administering a drug that was hanging on a bag attached to a pole beside his cage. A feeding tube was also clearly taped to his abdomen, and the only visible need for such an apparatus that she could see was the thick metal ring inserted into his mouth, locked behind his teeth and secured with black straps. He had a slew of electrodes hooked to him and the monitors in the observation room seemed to display his vitals. It didn't take Abigail long in reading the vitals to tell that he, if he was like the elf subjects that she had studied, was far from well. 

In fact, whilst the elves that she had in her study were pale, both of these elves appeared to be nearly sallow. They both had matching silver-blond hair and the taller one who was hooked to the machinery was sweating profusely. His eyes held a glassy quality to them and Abigail was quite certain that someone was testing some sort of drug on him. A surge of fury swept through her. She had half a mind to track down whatever disgrace of a researcher decided to run an unknown drug through a subject and leave them overnight with only machines for observation when she realized that if she were so stupid as to do so, she would have far more complaints as well. 

They had higher standards for the treatment of literal lab rats. 

Then, the smaller elf began to speak. Evidently, the microphone to the room was on and Abigail found herself fumbling for the old tape recorder in her pocked. She eagerly began recording the strange, musical language that the other one spoke. He kept his tone soft, seemingly trying to comfort the larger one who wasn't quite lucid enough to understand. Nevertheless, he continued his soft pleas, leaning as close to the other as the bars of the cage would allow. Eventually, he seemed to understand that his quest was fruitless and thus, he leaned back in the cold metal bars, shifting a bit to get comfortable. He sat in an eerily still manner for several minute, eyes tracing the pattern of the ceiling tiles. 

Abigail glanced at her watch. 

_3:01_

She had four minutes before she had to start walking out. She had to give herself enough time to walk casually as if she had wandered into a forbidden corridor on accident. If she was caught in an off limits zone, she should be able to talk her way out of it. If she was caught running from one... then she might just disappear. She was under no delusions on how closely the US government guarded the secrets of Erudition. 

Abigail was planning on leaving early to give herself a greater amount of time when the second elf began to sing. The sound was purely ethereal, starting off light and increasing in volume as the sweet melody seemed to wash over her. She pressed her tape recorder to the speaker to capture the broken-hearted sound as the elf sang in a language that she couldn't understand. The melody quickly wormed its way into Abigail's ear and the song ended just as 3:05 hit. 

She took one last long look at the miserable elves and turned to leave, shutting off the lights with her elbow as she went. A quick walk down the hall and she was exiting the forbidden sector by 3:07 with time she spare. She kept walking for another hour after, just in case they noticed a blip on the security feeds, she wanted to make sure that she was sen walking for a good period of time. All the while though, she could feel the tape recorder in her pocket, just begging to be played.

She finally decided that she had run enough circles around the Station and got into her car, driving home. The car ride to her lonely little cabin somehow seemed quieter and emptier than before. Now she wouldn't consider herself a saint, not by any stretch of exaggeration. But she had always believed in her work. From what she had seen of these elves, they were more miraculous than any creatures known to man. They were breathtakingly intelligent, strong, fast, and held abilities that should've been impossible. There was so much for humanity to learn from them, if the one who called himself Elrond could really heal wounds, then perhaps he held the cure for cancer. If they could isolate and refine whatever substance he produced to heal, then they could possibly eliminate all disease, stop the next pandemic before it could start. 

_We could do so much!_

But, the General had been keeping more than his usual secrets. He had a side project going on, a side project being run by someone who was obviously rash and incompetent. Whoever was in charge of those two subjects that she just witnessed should never be allowed near live lab creatures. Abigail couldn't think of a reasonable excuse for the number of implements she saw on him aside from wanton cruelty. The poor thing was a a cage that he couldn't even fully sit up in, and yet they had his hands restrained behind his back with a chain running to a collar. 

But someone else had seen it, someone else though it was wrong. 

Someone either had an unshakable moral compass or was incredibly stupid. Or... perhaps it was some sort of trap, a test of loyalty. Either way, Abigail had no idea who the mysterious note sender was and was not prepared to trust them. She had played their game once, letting them show her what they wanted to, now she needed answers. 

The smart thing of course, would've been to do the same thing that she did the last time she saw an Agent walking out of an "interrogation" room covered in blood- turn her head and walk aways because it wasn't her business. But, someone was running a lab like a cartoon crack-pot scientist. That room was one death-ray away from a bond villain's layer and Abigail would be damned if she let something like that slide. 

Someone had just drawn her into a very dangerous game. 

It was time for her to figure out her next move. 

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not really sure where I'm going with this or if it will continue... but this idea has been floating in my head for quite a while now. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
